Bloody Blossom
by Sakura-san 14
Summary: Sakura met Tsunade as she was going into the Academy and started learning from her early on. She's stronger, she has a loving family including a brother 8 years her senior- but he's killed on an ANBU mission. But how will Sakura's life start to unravel when she finds out her her uncle is Orochimaru? And how does her dead brother tie to Akatsuki, Orochimaru and the Mist Village?
1. Chapter 1

**I decided to go back and fix this story because I couldn't stand the errors and little mistakes that made me want to rip my eyes out. I went through the whole story and fixed some things and changed a few things around but most of it has stayed the same. Hopefully the changes make it all the better~ enjoy mina, and review if you like it 3**

_Flashbacks_

**_Inner Talking _**

Chapter 1

'Today's the day,' I thought, staring at my image in the mirror on the floor of my room. I looked the same as everyday with my long red white rimmed dress with two long slits up the sides to my thighs, a pair of black spandex shorts under it, and my dark blue ninja sandals on my feet. The dress had my family crest- the Haruno's- on the back. The crest itself is simple; it is a white thin circle with the middle cut out of it, making it seem like a big white sideways wedding ring basically.

Then there was my hair- it goes all the way down to the bottom of my back and is a bubbly pink. I have wanted to cut it for a while but I just can't bring myself to do it. I grab a hair tie and put it into a pony tail then braid it from there so it's out of my face and out of the way.

'Today I find out if all my hard work has paid off….today, I become a ninja.'

I walk to the place where I learned about everything I love- the ninja academy.

I still remember the first day here, I was 6 years old and I didn't have any friends.

_"Hey! Look at her!" A boy around my age yelled. He was talking about me and I knew it, he was pointing at my forehead while he yelled and other kids gathered around me. There were three girls and two boys and they were all laughing at me because of the size of my forehead. _

_I felt tears welling up in the corners of my eyes, but I kept the tears at bay, hopping they wouldn't realize I was trying not to cry. _

_I had had enough after a few minutes, so I stood up and ran away, tears streaming down my face, back towards my house. I didn't make it very far before I ran into a woman with a rather ample chest and stumbled back. She looked down at me, in the middle of yelling, "WATCH IT!" and looked at me. _

_I must have looked rather pathetic with tears in my red puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. I stumbled and bowed saying a quick 'Gomen' and I went to turn and head directly to my house when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and took a good hard look at the woman…and realized it was the great female Sannin! _

_"Tsu-Tsunade-sama!" I said in surprise and bowed once more and said, "I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you sooner. I didn't mean to bump into you, I was just heading home. I am truly sorry I disrupted your walk around the village." I was still in a bowing position by the time I finished my little spiel. _

_I mean, this is Senju, Tsunade we are talking about! Every single scroll about medical ninjustu my mother and father have read to me has mentioned Tsunade every other line! She is who I want to grow up to be- nothing less will be accepted!_

**_'SHANARO! WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT DREAM DOES COME TRUE PINKY!' _**_My inner Sakura yelled at me. _

_I smiled, standing up from my bow and realized she was staring at me, me of all people._

_"You know who I am?" She asked me, looking surprised that a 6 year old knew about her. _

_I smiled and said, "Of course I do! My okaa-san and otou-san always read me medical scrolls and you are in almost every single one! I want to grow up and be just like you- not afraid of other people, not afraid to stand up for yourself- it's my only goal right now! It helps that my ninja goal is to never give up, so maybe, I'll one day be like you." _

_She stood there, almost as if in disbelief, then she too smiled as came a little closer to me. I was unsure of what she was going to do, but she just ruffled my hair just like my brother does._

_I smiled then, remembering where I was going, looked at her and said, "Well I have to get going…my oka-san and otou-san need to know that I'm not going to school today…" _

_"Why aren't you going to school? If you want to get stronger, you have to learn new jutsu and techniques!" She said to me. _

_I nodded and smiled and said, "I know that, but I can't go back if I'm being bullied all the time. I don't have one friend in the academy because I'm new to the village…I came about 2 years ago and I still haven't made any friends. But, I'm going to be a ninja, so bullying should be the least of my worries, right? Well, I have to head home, so I hope you enjoy your stay in Konoah Tsunde-sama." _

_I went to walk away when I felt her hand on my arm and she turned me to her. She said, "You're being bullied at the academy? That is unacceptable...come on, I'll straighten this out with the Hokage. He'll make sure you're not picked on." She walked me to the Hokage's office and stormed right in without even knocking! She was towing me along and brought me right in front of the Third Hokage himself- and she ran right up to him and gave him a big hug. _

_I stared at her, wondering what the hell she was doing, until she said, "Uncle, I need you to help me help this young girl here."_

_ (A/N I know Tsunade and The Third are not related in the manga, buuuuuuuuut, I'm making it seem like they are because of their old teacher student bond…on with the fic!) _

_Tsunade walked back over to me and brought me right in front of the Hokage's desk, and I bowed my head and said, "Good morning, Hokage-sama." _

_"Hello Haruno-san, what brings you to my office at this time of day? Do you not start the academy today?"_

_I shook my head about to reply when Tsunade-sama interrupted saying, "Sakura told me she was at the academy and some of the kids were bullying her. She said that she doesn't have a single friend, not since she's moved here…and I need you to help me fix that. You need to go to the academy and teach them a lesson on bullying. We don't want the next generation of ninjas to be bullies, do we?" _

_Sarutobi looked up at her in shock and then looked to me. _

_"Is this true?" He asked me, standing up from his seat and slowly walking around his desk. _

_"Hai- Hokage-sama." I told him._

_He was silent for a few more moments before saying,"Looks like I'm giving a lesson today girls." _

_I smiled and said, "Arigato Hokage-sama! But if you don't want to you don't have to worry about it, they are just bullies after all…" _

_He shook his head and said, "Nonsense, anything for such a polite young girl of the Haruno clan." He smiled and walked away with me and Tsunade at his sides back to the academy." _

_(End Flashback) _

It felt like such a long time ago now, but the memory was always fresh in my mind.

**_That's because it was a long time ago. _**

_Not really, only 6 years ago. _

**_True, but we should get going; you don't want to be late today do you? _**

_No, I guess we should get going_.

I walked down the hall to my family dining room/kitchen and saw my mom and dad sitting in their ninja gear like normal.

"Morning oka-san, otou-san, I guess you guys have another mission today?" I asked them, sitting in my chair and eating my dad's prepared breakfast of eggs and toast.

They looked at one another and nodded, then my mother said, "Your father and I have a very serious mission, an S-Class mission, but don't worry okay dear? We should be back in a few months okay? We already have someone to come and check on you every once in a while, so you won't always be alone."

"Just make sure you train with your new team sweetie," My father said.

I nodded and said, "Hai! While you are away I will stay safe and train. I got to go, love you both and do your best on the mission!" I gave them each a hug and ran out of my house putting my shuriken and kunai pouch on my hip.

I run all the way to the academy and- no surprise- I'm the first one here. I always manage to be the first person, then normally the brooding and emo Uchiha, Sasuke, and finally Hyuuga, Hinata-chan (my only best friend) would be the last one to enter for another 10 minutes. Then the rest of the class would come in clumps of 4 or 5, always talking or laughing about something.

I put my head in my hands and thought about what I would do while my parents were gone. Normally I would house with the Hyuuga's until they came home, but I didn't want to bother them if they weren't going to be back in the least a few months.

**_You could just brush it off and live alone until then, Saki. _**

_True, but if someone notices my parents absence they will wonder why I'm alone, especially Hinata-chan. I don't think there has been a single time since we have been friends that I haven't stayed at her house when mom and dad were gone. _

**_….We could make henges _**

_ No! What if we get caught? Then what would we do? And if someone senses the chakra signature then were fucked._

**_We could just use one of the low chakra ones when someone is stopping by or something. If someone is over we can brush it off and say they went out for drinks or that they would be back early in the morning. This could work Saki; we just can't tip anyone off on it- especially Shisou._**

_Right, Tsunade-sama would freak if we were alone for that long…..Fine. We will go through with your idea then, but if we get caught I will kill you, slowly, for good measure_.

**_You can't kill me! I'm INSIDE of your conscience BAKA! _**

_WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY! _

**_BITCH PLEASE, LETS BRING THIS OUTSIDE THEN! _**

_….You mean walk you outside? You're 'inside' of my conscience remember?_

I smirked, knowing I had won this round.

**_GRRRRRR, IM DONE. SEE YOU WHEN YOU MEET YOUR TEAM AND NEW SENSEI _**

_Bye, bye._

I smiled and giggled to myself, knowing she will either get too bored and come back or she will just come back when I call her back.

I had been so preoccupied that I hadn't realized that Hinata had gotten here and was sitting quietly sitting next to me, fiddling with her fingers.

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan," I said to her and smiled at her and saw her blush spread across her cheeks when she had been noticed.

"O-ohayo, Sakura-chan," She stuttered slightly, smiling at me.

Ever since the Hokage had come to the classroom to address the bullying situation, Hinata has been glued to my side. She had been 'touched' by my story, as she put it. She also told me that I wasn't the only one who was being bullied- she was too, so we became instant friends and I became her protector.

Over the past four years, I have been training with Tsunade-sama in everything from Taijutsu to Medical-ninjutsu. She put a chakra reducer in my chakra paths right now, so I can get stronger and so I can save my _true_ strength for when I take the Chunin Exams next year. Plus I have to wear weights that are adjustable- depending on the amount of chakra you put in depends on the weight.

Tsunade-sama has been very impressed with my chakra control over the years. She told me that I have the best chakra control next to her, and she told me that in time even I would surpass her skill.

I wasn't quite certain that was true, only because the only thing anyone at the Academy has ever seen is my limited skills, especially in speed and kunai and shuriken throwing. If you didn't look with trained eyes, you would never see my weapons; at least that's what Shishou tells me.

She also told me about how much stronger I would be when she took off the reducers and the weights, and I still can't believe it. 'You will be 5 times stronger, 2 times faster and 2 times more sensitive to your senses,' she said, simply looking at me with a faraway look in her eyes.

But ever since I started hanging around with Hinata and started my private teachings with Tsunade, I had become a bit closed off.

Ever since that day I have slowly zeroed in on training, my parents, and protecting Hinata-chan from anything and everything. My parents were AMBU members, and I only knew that because I saw my mom's tattoo when she and I got into a fight and I threw one of my kunai at her, slicing the sleeve of her shirt.

She didn't want to tell me, but after my pestering she told me that my father was also ANBU. And ever since I found out, I rarely get to see them because of the amount of missions coming in. We try and do things every once and a while- especially go to the monument stone.

We go to pay our respects to my brother who had died on a mission, giving his life for the Kazekage at the time. My brother had been 16 years old- a shinobi ready to kill in those times (and still today). I normally go there to reminisce in the good days. He had died only 4 years ago, but it felt like just yesterday he was by my side and laughing with me.

My brother- his name was Mori Haruno. He was an excellent shinobi for his young age, many called him a genius. He-being the only male heir- was to keep our family going after our parents died. But, this bastard Orochimaru had to go and try assassinating the Kazekage of the Sand.

At his funeral, I silently vowed to his corpse that I would get revenge on that man. When I met him, I would **murder that bastard**. No one takes one of my precious people and gets away with it.

And the only person who knew in our age group was Hinata. I doubt Tsunade-sama knew of it, considering it happened right before she came to the village. So the Third and Hinata-chan are the only two people who knew of my brothers passing. Hinata being the one to comfort me while I cried at home for hours on end when I found out- my parents had been out on a mission and I was getting my things to go to Hinata's when an ANBU-nin poofed into my home (no doubt looking for my parents) but instead saw me and told me he was to bring me to the Hokage. Once I got to his office he had then explained what happened and gave e his condolences, hugging me and telling me it was going to be okay.

Long story short, I called Hinata after I got home and she rushed over and I holed up in my house for a good week-not even going to the Academy or training.

But today, I would make my nii-san proud and become a Genin. Then a Chunin and Jounin and then an ANBU- just so I could bring honor to his name, nothing less could come out of this, and if it did I would have to kill myself for being so weak.

Well, might as well start on my short yet seemingly impossible list, as Iruka-sensei has just entered the building.

"Time to kick some ass Hinata-chan," I quietly said in her ear, and she smiled and said, "Hai!"

He came in and explained what the exam was and that we either passed or failed- there was no in-between.

He read the first name off and in the person went, and this went on for what felt like an eternity, until I was called into the room for my exam.

I walked in, standing in front of Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei, and an ANBU with a... with a bird mask. I was inwardly surprised that they would use the mask of a deceased member. I'd have to ask Hokage-sama about that later.

"Sakura-san," Iruka-sensei said, "this exam is based on how many clones you can make and how they come out."

I nodded, made the hand seal, and-because of my suppressed chakra- only 20 clones came out. I could see the surprise on Mizuki-sensei's face, and I snickered at him.

"What are you laughing at kid?!" He yelled at me, his face getting all red and steam coming out of his ears.

I stopped laughing and looked at him, getting serious. "You're a ninja Mizuki-sensei; you should be able to hide your emotions from a mere Genin."

He obviously did not expect that to come from my mouth because he stood up- and because of my training- I saw him come toward me, in order to scare me. I was quicker though, so I picked up a kunai, swung with his momentum, flipped him in front of me and put the knife to his neck.

"Being rash makes you sloppy and slow- try not being both of them the next time you try to scare me _sensei,_" I put emphasis on the word 'sensei' for a reason and he growled under my hold.

"Haruno-san, can you let Mizuki-san go? We cannot replace him; we are short on Chunin and Jounin at the moment." The bird ANBU said, and I nodded, letting the fuming man go and walking over to Iruka's outstretched hand with my new Genin head band (signifying I have passed the test). I put it around my neck and walked back out into the class- opposite where they told me to go. Hinata saw me enter and smiled and….and ran up and hugged me.

She had never- EVER- hugged me in front of the class, no one has. I felt every pair of eyes on us, but I didn't care, I just gave a small smile and hugged her back.

To say everyone was shocked was an understatement- everyone was silent, even Sasuke was staring at me like I had grown two heads.

"Great job Sakura-chan!" Hinata squealed and I looked at her, smiled for real, and said, "Thanks, Hinata-chan. And good luck, you're up next." I gave her a tight hug at that and ushered her inside the room.

When I turned back around, I came face to face with…with the Uchiha. Of course.

This snoopy little bastard just had to know everything, and now he really wanted to know me because I was never a fangirl and I don't show emotion often. Well I was going to relish in this damn bastards curiosity.

I walked around him and decided to wait in the doorway for Hinata to come out with her head band before we went to train. So I leaned on the doorway and waited- for the Uchiha bastard to question me and for Hinata. Sure enough, after about a minute, the bastard walked up to me, and leaned against the doorway right across from me.

He looked at me, then sighed and asked, only loud enough for me to hear, "You passed I see."

I nodded at him, and then turned back to the exam door, hopping Hinata was almost done.

When he didn't say anything else, I looked up at him and saw that he was seriously contemplating his next words. But he shook it off and asked me, "How are you friendly with Hinata, but not anyone else? Hell, you're not even one of my fangirls, you're actually normal."

Of course, the bastard had to ask me a question that wasn't a yes or no simple answer. I sighed, and said equally as quiet, "Hinata is my anchor, without her I wouldn't even be here. She calms me, she is one of my only friends, and she won't go easy on me in a spar. Those are rare traits Uchiha, very rare."

He seemed shocked that I had talked so much, but I didn't care. Today was just full of surprises wasn't it? "Why are you so chatty today mister 'I'm so emo and cool that no one should be blessed with my presence'?" I asked him.

He smirked at the name and glared at me, "I could ask you the same thing miss 'I'm intimidating and you should respect me'."

We settled for a staring contest until Hinata came up to me with her headband and I gave the ass hole one more glare then Hinata and I were off to train.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own anything- Naruto is sadly not mine. But the plot is my bitch :) Enjoy ~**

_Flashbacks_

**_Inner Talking _**

2

The next day came, and we were to report to the Academy for our team assignments. I was actually excited to be learning just who I was going to end up teamed with. As much as I didn't want to admit it, having the Uchiha on my team would be useful. He is pretty strong and when he awakens his Sharingan, he will be even more powerful.

The sharingan is mentioned a few times in the books I have studied under shishou. It's what the Uchiha's are known for- their ultimate genjustu and their specialization in genjustu is only the beginning of their powers. But the sharingan is activated after an event of high emotion. Then it has many forms it can take after that while it gains power over time.

But the downside is, if you don't use it responsibly, you can go blind from overuse. And it is rumored that Itachi Uchiha- Sasuke's older brother who murdered his family- is going blind. That is accompanied by the rumor that the Akatsuki is also looking for a medic, someone with mine or Tsunade-sama's ability.

She told me once that once I got a little older, they might even come after me if I surpass her and that I should always be on guard. She also tells me not to tell anyone- except my family, Hinata, and the Hokage of course- that I train with her. She wants to wait till I become a Chunin to let people know I'm her apprentice.

Tsunade and Shizune-sempai are both my mentors. Shizune was Tsunade's first apprentice, and now she is an excellent med-nin and poison master. Tsunade teaches me combat and medial skills (along with other skills) and Shizune teaches me poisons and antidotes.

I walked to the Academy early like normal, except this time Hinata-chan and Sasuke beat me. I just shook my head and went over to Hinata and sat down with her.

"A-are you excited t-to find out your t-team today?" Hinata asked me. She looked worried so I put my arm around her in a comforting hold and told her, "It will be okay Hinata-chan. Your team will be perfect; you guys will train, talk, and get along. The atmosphere around you changes people, so have no worries that your team will love you."

She stared at me wide eyed for a second, then smiled and said, "I know you'll be j-just fine with your team. You're strong, so you won't fall behind. But I am going to m-miss our t-training session's every day." She looked down, sad.

"Hey, hey, I never said we couldn't still train together. We will just have to wait until later. You know we train with our teams, then I have my other training, then we can train. Why don't we do it at midnight? You can leave a clone in your room sleeping so if anyone comes in they will think you are home. How does that sound?" I asked her, not wanting to upset her.

The look on her face was of complete joy and she nodded and hugged me saying, "Yes! I would l-love to continue our training!"

And for a little while, Hinata and I just talked about anything and everything. We talked about training schedules, our families, weapon shopping (I really needed to find a katana), and anything else we could think of. And the whole time, I didn't even realize I was smiling a real smile.

We were talking about the Inuzuka clans dogs when suddenly Hinata said, "I haven't seen you smile for such a long time in so long. T-the last time was before M-mori-," I cut her off with my hand over her mouth. One because I knew Sasuke could hear, and two because it hurt to hear his name.

I couldn't breathe, my heart hurt, like someone was squeezing it until it burst. I got up and without a word walked out then my walk turned into a sprint. I ran and ran, letting my legs take me somewhere that wasn't here. I felt Hinata's chakra following me but I masked my chakra and ran on the rooftops- losing her.

I didn't stop running until I reached a familiar spot, the clearing where the stone was. I just looked down and ran to stone and fell to my knees in front of it and I cried. I haven't cried in a long time- since my brother's funeral actually.

"Why, why did you leave me?" I sobbed. "Why did you go on that mission? Why didn't you at least come back as a ghost and haunt us? Why couldn't you survive? Do you know what it's like without you? It's been hell! Mom and dad go out every day and risk their lives- I'm so scared they won't come back home. The only ones I can trust are Hinata-chan, Tsunade-sama, Shizune-sempai, and the Third. I just don't know what to do anymore." I tried to stop crying, and rubbed my eyes dry. I had to get back to the academy…but I wasn't ready just yet.

"I wish you were here to teach me more of what you knew. If you were here, mom and dad wouldn't worry about me every day, they wouldn't be distracted with what I'm doing. They'd be focused, sharp, and less worried. We miss you, I miss you. And I promise to get revenge for you; no one hurts my precious people and survives." I got up, wiped my eyes, and finally addressed the person I knew was there. He might be masking his chakra, but Tsunade had taught how to get around chakra masking.

"I know you're there, you might as well come out." I said looking into the tree I knew he was in. But he didn't move, instead his chakra _vanished_.

**_We should get back, it's about time they announce the teams. _**

_True, we should head back. _

**_Are you going to be alright? _**

_I'll be as good as I can be, I just have to make it through meeting my team and sensei and then I'm free. _

**_Then let's get going. _**

I sprinted back to the academy just in the nick of time; Iruka-sensei was walking in right behind me. He gave me a puzzled look, but then went in front of the class and stated that he was going to read off who was on what team.

He started naming teams and they were either happy or upset with their new them. I was starting to doze off when he said, "Team 7: Haruno Sakura, Uzimaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto jumped up excited when he heard my name, then he flipped shit when he heard Sasuke's. He even had the balls to yell at Iruka-sensei, "Iruka-sensei! Why am I, the best ninja ever, on a team with Sasuke! He can't compare to me!"

To which Iruka replied, "Baka! You had the worst scores in the Academy, while Sasuke had the best scores over all. And Sakura had the second best overall and we have to balance the teams, so you are on his team! No buts!"

Then he continued down the list, "Team 8: Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kida, and Aburame Shino." Hinata seemed happy to be on that team, but I could tell something was amiss with her. I had taken a seat in the back, and she was only two rows ahead of me on the isle so I crawled over to her and asked if she was okay.

"Sakura-chan?" She squeaked when she saw me. I nodded and she whispered, "I was so worried! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't m-m-mean to m-make you run away! C-can you for-forgive me?" She looked so afraid. Like I could tell her no, I was like putty in her hands, I could never be mad at Hinata.

I grabbed her hand and said, "You were already forgiven. No harm done and our session is still on tonight by the way."

"T-thank you, S-sakura-chan," She said to me, gripping my hand like a life line. The next team, team 10 was Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji. I didn't pay any attention after that.

I waited for Iruka to finish his list of names and as soon as I was about to say something, he told us to break for lunch. I grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her with me. After finding a little shop and getting two bento boxes, we set out to find a bench. We found one close to the Academy; we sat down and ate our bentos.

We ate in silence, and for the first time, I broke it, "So are you excited to meet your new sensei, Hinata-chan?"

She just smiled as she was eating and said, "Yes, I'm looking forward to meeting him or her. It will give me extra training on top of our training sessions. I-im just worried that someone will notice I'm gone from the estate."

I was about to answer when I felt three chakras right behind us in the trees, only 1 of them being masked, the other 2 were out in the open. I just shook my head and smirked: one of them felt familiar, he was from earlier.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan? Y-you seem on edge now." Hinata asked me, putting a hand on my arm in a concerned matter.

I brushed off her comment and instead said, "Hinata, why don't you go back to the Academy and go talk to Shino and Kiba? You can go get acquainted before you meet your sensei. I'll see you at 12 at our normal meeting spot." I stared into her eyes, hoping she could see that I had to take care of something and I wouldn't give up our time together if I didn't have to.

She must have understood, especially because I didn't add the "-chan" at the end of her name, a rare thing indeed. I saw her eyes go wide and she nodded and we got up and I hugged her. I whispered in her ear, "There are some ninja behind us in the trees. I want to find out who they are- one of them was at the stone when I was there earlier."

She nodded and whispered back, "Be safe" and then she was walking away, waving to me. When she disappeared into the Academy I sighed and said, "You can come out now. I don't know why one of you is following me, but I would love it if you stopped. Just who are you guys anyway?" I just wanted to walk around like a normal person and protect my family and friends. Was that so wrong?

Then these people come along and start following me, it's so troublesome (A/N sounds familiar, eh?J).

I was waiting for them to show themselves and I was about to leave when a man with silver hair that was defying gravity came out of the tree…wait. I know him from the bingo books my parents have.

"You're the White Fangs son, Hatake Kakashi. You are the wielder of a sharingan, the copycat ninja who has copied over a thousand jutsu. Yet you are notorious for being late as my Shishou always says." I said in slight awe. I know Tsunade likes to talk about him when we talk about the sharingan, him and Itachi Uchiha. Both were great topics as far as the sharingan went, and in Shizune's opinion, he is 'dreamy'.

"Ah, so you know who I am." He said, looking at me through his dark ebony eye, the sharingan being behind his headband. I couldn't tell his facial expression because of his mask, but he seemed a bit like he was standing off.

"Yes I do. To what do I owe this pleasure of your presence, Hatake-sama?" I asked him, bowing my head slightly in respect to the man. And then I took a moment to realize_ his _chakra was the same as the one from earlier, and he was also the one who masked his chakra again this time.

My head snapped up as I looked at him and demanded, "Why in Kami-sama's name were you watching me earlier! I thought there was some creep or enemy just watching ready to strike but it was _you!_ What the fucking hell!"

He seemed surprised, but I'm not sure if it was because I swore or if it was because I was respectful. I'm going to go with both because he seemed pretty speechless.

"What I was doing was none of your concern, and you should not be cursing at such a young age." He said to me. I looked away and felt with my chakra in the Academy to see if Hinata was with anyone, and I felt Kiba and Akamaru's chakra right with her and sighed in relief, she wasn't alone.

Then I felt to see if the other 2 people were still there and of course they were probably watching us. I gestured to the trees with my eyebrows silently asking 'Who is still there?' and he sighed and said, "Kurenai, Asuma, you can come on out. She already knows you're there, no point in hiding."

Two people, a man and a woman jumped down from the tree and stood in front of me. I didn't know them very well, except the man. I knew his name and that he was the son of the current Hokage, but that's it.

"Sarutobi, Asuma," The man said, raising his hand and I accepted it and shook his hand.

"Yūhi, Kurenai" The woman said, also extending her hand and I shook it as well.

I looked at the three of them, saw the Chunin jackets, and knowing they were all probably above Chunin, said, "So I guess the three of you are at least three of the new cells sensei's? That would explain why you are so close to the Academy this time of day. "

All of them nodded, standing in a loose semicircle around me. I don't even know what they want from me, so I sighed and said, "Well I have to return to Hinata-chan for now. Oh, and if one of you ends up her sensei, do not go easy on her. She has a lot of endurance and is pretty damn skilled." I ended it at that and started walking back to the Academy.

I felt rather then saw the kunai one of them sent at me, and I didn't even flinch as it stabbed me in the back. I just turned around, pulled it out of my back and healed myself. I smiled a psychotic smile at them and sent it flying back at them, hitting the ground with enough force to crack the ground around it.

Then I walked inside and didn't even look at their faces, what a pity.

**_Saki, are you okay? _**

_I'm completely fine, why do you ask? _

**_You seem to be going a little, well, insane. _**

_I'm fine inner, I just am not having the best of days…maybe because I cried earlier. I don't remember crying since he died. _

**_True, but still Saki, you might want Tsunade to make sure nothing is wrong. You know she wouldn't mind._**

_Why don't we make a deal, the first time I kill someone I'll go to her. Before then I will be fine. I haven't been through anything traumatic. I promise I'll be fine, every shinobi has psychotic thoughts every once and a while. _

**_Fine, but anyway, do you think any of those Jounins are going to be our sensei? _**

_I'm not sure, maybe Hatake or Sarutobi. I think Yūhi will be Hinata's sensei. _

**_Please, I bet Asuma will be our sensei and Kurenai will be Ino's and Kakashi will be Hina-chans sensei! _**

_Wanna make a bet then? _

**_HELL YEAH I DO!_**

_Okay, I win you have to go on a date with inner Sasuke in Sasuke's head. You win I'll let you take over my body for a day and let you run around doing whatever you want. _

**_DEAL, DEAL, DEAL! I'M SO GOING TO WIN THIS, JUST YOU WATCH! AND WHEN I DO I'LL KISS THAT UCHIHA RIGHT ON THE LIPS AND TELL HIM I LOVE HIM! _**

_Ewe, can you please refrain from that? I don't need my reputation ruined because of you. _

**_HEY! YOU CAN'T GO BACK ON YOUR WORDS! IF I WIN YOU ARE SO FUUUUUUUUUUUUCKED! _**

_Fine, a deal is a deal._

-20 minutes later-

_Told you so inner, have fun on your date with inner Sasuke._

**_THAT'S NOT FAIR! YOU DEFFINITLEY CHEATED! I DECLARE A DIFFERENT BET!_**

_Hey, you can't go back on your word inner, a deal is a deal you know__**. **__*smirking on the outside*_

**_FINE! I'LL GO LET INNER SASUKE KNOW WHATS GOING ON! *angrily stomps out of conscience* _**

"Finally," I sigh looking at Hinata. I was actually right in who got what sensei, even though mine still wasn't here. Late bastard, I'll have to get to practice hours later or else I'll just be sitting there doing nothing.

"Good luck, Hinata-chan. I'll see you tonight, don't forget," I told her as Kurenai walked in and collected Hinata, Kiba and Shino.

After about ten minutes, everyone except my team had gone and left with their new senseis. Naruto, being the loud one decided to complain about how our sensei was late and that he needed to be punished so naturally he put an eraser in the door so when their sensei opened the door, it would hit him on the head.

"Hehehe," Naruto snickered," this is what he gets for being late! That will teach him!" I was going to say something, but of course the chicken-ass had to first.

"Naruto-baka, our sensei is a Jounin. He won't be fooled so easily by that trick." Sasuke said in a condescending voice.

"Sasuke-teme! Why do you have to go and ruin my fun like that!?" He yelled back at the slightly annoyed Uchiha.

"It is simply because you are being childish and annoying." I answered for Sasuke. Naruto looked at me for a second, probably not realizing I had been there the whole time. He was giving me that 'What the hell?' confused look. Not that it's not always on his face, but it was still a little strange having it pointed towards me.

But it doesn't matter what look he gives me, we're all a team now. I'll have to like my team to actually be able to work with them.

I heard the sound of the door opening and of course, who comes in? Fucking Kakashi Hatake, that's who- the one who was following me today, the one who I had surprised, the one sensei besides Shishou that I actually looked up to.

"Why hello again sensei," I said to him, giving him a smirk.

"Who know him?" Sasuke asked me, staring me down.

"Yeah, you know him Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked in between his giggles that their sensei had fallen for the prank he set up.

"Yes I do, got a problem Sasuke-_kun_?" I asked him, baiting him with the '-Kun', but of course him and all of his pride just sighed heavily and said, "What's it to you Sakura-_chan_?" He added as much bait to the line as I did.

A cough stopped our fight, it was an amused looking Kakashi and he said, "Sorry to interrupt (no way in hell Kakashi was sorry -.-) but I would like to get to know my team. Meet me on the roof," and with that he poofed away.

"Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan, I'll race you to the roof!" Naruto said, and then we were off. I took a different route though. While they ran to the stairs and up them, I climbed through the window and ran up the window- obviously winning the race.

Kakashi was sitting with an orange book that looked familiar. Yeah, I had seen Tsunade with that book and had asked her why she had it and she had told me her friend was the writer and he was away on a journey, so she kept it to remind her of him.

"Sensei," I said as I sat down next to him. I saw him whip his head in my direction, probably getting whiplash in the process.

I giggled a little at this and said, "One must not underestimate a student- they should look underneath the underneath at all times, even with people."

He was going to say something when Sasuke and Naruto came out to the rooftop and Naruto screamed, "HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET UP HERE SO FAST SAKURA-CHAN!?"

"I ran faster than you is all," I said, smiling at them.

"Liar," Sasuke said to me while Naruto shouted that at me.

"Well," Kakashi said, putting his book away, "now that everyone is here, why don't we start with introducing yourselves. Your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dream- things like that."

"Well, why don't you show us how it's done sensei?" Naruto suggested as we sat on the steps in front of Kakashi who has just settled himself on the railing surrounding the roof.

"Okay then, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I have many likes and dislikes. My hobbies are none of your business. And I don't have a particular dream, so now it's your turn blondie."

"But the only thing we learned was your name!" Naruto protested, but after getting a glare from him, Naruto started talking.

"My name is Uzimaki Naruto! I love ramen, I dislike having to wait three minutes for the ramen to cook when making instant ramen. My hobbies are pulling pranks and practical jokes. And my dream is to one day become Hokage! Believe it!"

"Next!" Kakashi said, looking at Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like many things, I hate almost everything. My hobby is training, and I don't have a dream per say….it's more of an ambition. I have to one day restore my clan and kill a certain man."

"And finally, you," He said, pointing to me.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like to train with Hinata-chan, be with Hinata-chan, and hang out with Hinata-chan. I dislike my precious people being hurt or taken from me. My hobbies are…well I couldn't tell you them now could I?" I said smiling sweetly, "I'd get thrown in jail for exposing my secrets. And my dream is also an ambition- to get revenge on a certain snake bastard."

Now after that, Kakashi was looking at me wide-eyed, Sasuke was looking at me like I was an angle, and Naruto was staring at me, silently praying it wasn't him. He probably hadn't heard the word snake before bastard, but let him be scared.

"O-okay then students, you are dismissed. But wait, one last thing before you go- we start team training tomorrow at 6am, don't be late. And don't eat breakfast; you'll puke if you do. Now I have to speak to Sakura, so you two run along now."

Naruto smiled and waved as he yelled while Sasuke waited a moment more, looking at me. I nodded and said. "If I need help Sasuke, I'll flare my chakra." He nodded then left as well.

I then looked to Kakashi and asked him, "What do you need Kakashi-sensei?"

He turned serious and he asked me, "Why are you going after Orochimaru?"

I sighed and said, "It's none of your concern. I have my reasons."

"A twelve year old has a grudge against Orochimaru so large that she wants revenge against him? And you think it's none of my concern, yet I'm your sensei?" He asked me, and he seemed quite pissed if I do say so myself.

I face-palmed and said, "Exactly, you just summed up what I said a minute ago."

He glared at me then said, "This is because of your brother Mori isn't it?"

I was shocked to say the least, and I knew my eyes were wide and my mouth was open. I snapped it shut and looked away from Kakashi, not wanting him to see the sadness and hurt in my eyes. I walked over to the railing and leaned against it, looking out at the village.

"Kakashi-san," I said softly, but I knew he could hear me, "can we please talk somewhere more private?"  
"Sure," He said after a few minutes of silence, "lead the way."

I jumped onto the rooftops and headed to the Hokage Mountain, my favorite spot to think besides the monument stone. The Third always found me up here when I went missing, and we would sit and talk or just sit with me hugging him for comfort. The Hokage and I had become pretty close over the period of my brother being murdered; he was like my grandfather in a sense.

I sat down on his head that was carved into the mountain, and sighed heavily. Kakashi, after a moment of hesitation, sat down next to me on his head.

We sat in silence for a few moments before Kakashi said, "I know I shouldn't bring him up, but is it about your brother?"

My body tightened in response to him being even mentioned, but I knew I had to answer, "Y-yes, it does have to do with my brother. He was k-killed on a m-mission escorting the Kazekage-"He cut me off with a pat to my shoulder and said, "I know the details, I was also on that mission. I'm so sorry for loss, I know I'm late but its better late than never."

I nodded and turned to him, and gave him a hug. He was shocked, I could tell because he didn't move at first, but then he loosened up and hugged me back. We stayed like that for a while until someone cleared their throat behind us, making us jump.

But it was only Hokage-sama, probably wondering where I was, like he normally does. He smiled and came and sat down next to me.

"Ah," he said, "so Sakura, you decided to tell Kakashi-san about your brother, eh? Well, I'm happy you did and I didn't have to. You know I care for you, but out of everyone, your sensei needs to know. But now that he knows, Kakashi, are you going to swear to never tell anything that you learn about Sakura, to anyone? Because now that you know, I hope, she will confine in you when her Kekkei Genkai appears. I know she will need more guidance with things, so I hope you can break her shell and-," He covered my ears for the rest so I couldn't hear anymore.

I wasn't even mad about it, I was just so tired, so, so tired. I fought against my eyelids closing, but I knew I wasn't going to win. I just put my head on Kakashi's chest and fell asleep.

…A little while later…

I woke up to the sound of Kakashi-sensei's voice as he tried to get into my family's house. I stirred and he put me down, asking how to get into my house. I smiled sleepily and led him to my second story window and showed him the hand signs to get in.

"This is the way to get in if I was to pass out at practice or you need to get to me for some reason. Thanks Kakashi-sensei, I'll see you at 11am tomorrow." I told him, crawling into my bed.

"The practice is at 6am Sakura-chan," He answered me, slightly amused.

"Yeah right, you're always late no matter what," I teased, and fell into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**I still don't own Naruto sadly, but that is why I write fanfiction no? Enjoy ~**

**ch.** **3**

The next day, I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping outside my open window. Wait my open window….. Oh yeah. I fell asleep on Kakashi's chest and he brought me home.

**_Yep, and today you have survival training with team 7. We were supposed to get there at 6, remember? It's 10 now, so we don't have to worry about being late just yet. We have until about 11, so you might as well eat, shower, and dress. _**

_True, let's go make some waffles! _

**_Saki, you know you'll puke if you do. _**

_But they are so delicious! *begs with puppy eyes* _

**_You know as well as I that I can't see your eyes! So don't even try the puppy act! And I don't need you puking in front of your new team, so no! _**

_Fine, big meanie….When did you become my mother? _

**_Well, to answer that you'd have to ask the Hokage. _**

_W-what do you mean? _

**_BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU THOUGHT I WAS SERIOUS! SAKI, WHAT THE HELL! _**

_Shut up *pouts*_

**_YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LIVE THIS DOWN! I'M LAGHING SO HARD I'M CRYING! _**

_UGH! FINE, I WILL DEAL WITH YOU LATER! _

I shut her cackling out and went to go make a lighter breakfast of toast and butter and jelly with some blueberries- delicious if I do say so myself.

After eating, I went and took a shower, looking at the necklace my father had a matching one too. He bought it for me when we were passing by a village, I believe it was Sound country- where my uncle is the ruler as my parents tell me (they said I used to be with him all the time, yet I can't remember what he looks like or his name- weird), and he saw it in a shop window and thought of me. It's a beautiful cherry blossom flower with one white petal and the other four are a beautiful pink color.

I wear it no matter what, it's my reminder that I'm always loved and that I will always have a piece of my dad with me as long as I wear it. After that, I stepped out of the shower and went to my closet to find a new outfit. I'm as tired of the dress as I am my hair, so it's time to switch it up!

I pulled out a pair of black pants that were skin tight that went to the middle of my shin, a blood red tank top with the Haruno crest on the back, and a pair of my normal black sandals, and then I put my weights back on. Then I grabbed my kunai and shuriken pouches and threw some senbon coated in poison in my right pouch, and some antidotes in the left pouch so I didn't actually kill my teammates or sensei.

Then I grabbed some nutrition and energy bars because I know the boys got there at 6 and didn't eat anything-morons.

I looked at the clock and cursed, it was five minutes till 11. Looks like I'm running!

And run I did, all the way to the training grounds, and I made it just in time. Naruto yelled that I was late and Sasuke looked at me and nodded, acknowledging my existence. I smiled at Naruto and said, "Even if I am late, sensei is even later then I am, so technically I'm not late. Oh, and I bet you and Sasuke are hungry, yes?"

They didn't need to answer, their stomachs did for them. I sighed and threw them each an energy bar. They tried to protest but I just looked at them and said, "We won't get through training if you two bozos are hungry and distracted."

They nodded and both ate their energy bars in silence, and as soon as they were done Kakashi-sensei showed up- only 5 hours late of course.

"YOU'RE LATE SENSEI!" Naruto yelled at him, and Kakashi rubbed his head and said, "Well, I got lost on the road of life…"

"Buuuuuuuull~shiiiiiiiiiit," I sang to him and he stared me down like he wanted to set me on fire. So naturally I stuck my tongue out at him and looked away.

"Now that I'm here," He pulled out an alarm clock and put it on top of a wooden stump next to him and continued, "This alarm is set to go off at 12pm. You are to get these two bells from me before then. If you don't then it looks like you're not getting lunch that I will be eating in front of you _and_ you'll be going back to the academy." He said sickly sweet and he had hearts surrounding his face with a smile under his mask.

I was shocked, and I said, "What do you mean we go back to the academy? We already passed the exam to become Genin, so why make us go back?"

"Because," He said with an anonymous aura around him, "only the ones who pass the survival tests move on to become Genin."

Naruto gasped and Sasuke simply seemed pissed- just like me.

Kakashi just laughed and said," You guys have to come at me with the intention to kill me or you won't get the bells from me. You will start on start, 1, 2, 3, start!"

I ran to the nearest tree and climbed it, noticing that Sasuke and Naruto had done the same. Kakashi hadn't moved at all, and of course Naruto being the one who can't sit still jumped out of his hiding spot and yelled, "Those two might run, but I will stay and fight you! Bring it on Kakashi-sensei!" Even from where I was perched I could tell Kakashi was amused- ass hole.

Naruto sent a barrage of kicks and punches at him, and sensei obviously avoided all of them perfectly. Then Naruto took two kunai out and charged at him, swinging first to the right then the left, searching for an opening. Kakashi then took the offensive side and punched Naruto into the river, finally coming up after a few minutes and doing the Shadow Clone jutsu, causing around 30 or so Naruto's to attack Kakashi.

Then, sensei was behind Naruto yelling, "A Thousand Years of Death!" and sent Naruto flying off into the distance.

The medic in me made me go and search for him, while also masking my chakra so sensei couldn't find me. After searching for a few more minutes, I found him with a big bump on his head and a hurt pride. I sighed and walked over to him, and asked, "Mind if I heal you?"

His eyes widened and he asked me, "You're a med-nin Sakura-chan?" He seemed really surprised and slightly in awe. I nodded at him and felt a smile find its way to my face and felt the warmth of the green healing chakra coming from my finger-tips.

I put my hand to his head and felt around to see if there was any other damage and there wasn't so I fixed the slight bruising in a matter of seconds.

I looked at him and said, "All done."

"Thanks Sakura-chan, now I can go beat sensei and get a bell before Sasuke!" He said back to me, getting up to leave when I grabbed his hand.

"Naruto we should find Sasuke and come up with a plan, there is no way we will survive this training without teamwork," I told him, knowing there was no other way. One of them was just going to have to not get a bell, and it would be me.

He hesitated for a second then nodded, inclining his head for me to lead. We jumped through some trees until I felt Duck-asses chakra and we landed right next to him, making him jump.

"Sorry," I whispered to him, admittedly smug, "but I have a plan. You and Naruto need to go at Kakashi at the same time, distracting him while I finish him off so you two can get the bells from him. We need to use teamwork you baka, so don't even try to refuse."

He glared at me then whispered back, "Fine, but if this fails it's on you pinky."

I smiled and said, "On three, you two will jump out and start attacking him as a two man team, _working together," _huge emphasis on that, "and I will finish him off- understood?"

They nodded and I counted down on my fingers, and then they were off. Sasuke working with his Taijutsu and speed, Naruto working with kunais and shuriken, and I was waiting for the right time.

Training with Hinata had a lot of perks, one of them being that she taught me how to open and close chakra points without having the Byakugan.

There, Kakashi's back was to me being occupied by the boys, and I threw off two of my weights and ran at him. Reaching him in only an instant, I pushed on some of his chakra points, causing him to not be able to use his hands, arms or legs. He collapsed and I caught him and yelled at the boys, "Grab the bells! He can't stop you now, grab them!"

They didn't think twice, they listened and grabbed them, Kakashi not making a sound as they did so. I looked at his face to see if he was mad, but all I saw was surprise and a bit of…what was that…awe? No, it was fondness; he was starting to like us.

I sighed and said, "Well now that you lost, I guess you'd like to be un-blocked now wouldn't you ne, sensei?"

"I would appreciate it Sakura-san, I would like to eat my food." He said, looking at his food longingly, and that's when I felt an evil smile plaster itself to my face.

I felt him tense at the smile as I put him completely on the ground and walked over to where my weights were. I picked them all up from there small craters their weight had caused and put them back on. After getting a length of rope I called Sasuke and Naruto over.

"Whatcha need Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, looking at the rope and Kakashi, curiosity shone on his face.

I smiled and said, "I need you boys to pick up and hold Kakashi to that sump over there, I'm going to tie him down and make him watch us eat lunch."

Sasuke smirked, Naruto smiled and laughed and Kakashi… well he looked like he was going to murder me the second he could move again.

I giggled at his expression, with all three of them looking at me strangely, as I bent over and started laughing so hard my sides hurt. I felt tears coming to my eyes as I looked at their faces and kept laughing, eventually falling on the ground, clutching my sides and tears coming out of my eyes.

"I-I'm sor-rry gu-guys! B-b-but you-your f-faces are just to-too funny!" I said between my laughing fits and tried to stop. It took about 3 more minutes for me to actually stop laughing, then another minute for me to stand up.

I walked over to Naruto and Sasuke and took the rope from Naruto's hand and pointed to Kakashi with a brow raised at them. They seemed to understand, and with two amused grins they lifted him up and propped him next to the stump in the middle, and I tied him- quite tightly- to the post.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto says, looking at me, "isn't sensei going to murder us when we let him go?"

"Why yes I am Na-," Kakashi started but was cut off when I said, "No he won't Naruto, because then he would be in trouble with the Hokage and my parents. I don't think he wants to piss off the Haruno's, now do you Kakashi?"

I bated my eyes and looked at him, smiling as I saw the scared look cross his lone eye. My parents were ANBU, and I know Kakashi used to do it now because my parents would always complain about a younger ninja who was always late and never punctual- A.K.A Kakashi.

And I know how my mom is when she is mad- she is fucking scary. She can scream like a Banshee and when we Haruno girls get mad, if we drop our guard our Inner can come out and become like a whole new person with full chakra and techniques. The only difference is that instead of our pink hair and clothes, our inners have black hair and black versions of our clothes.

And if you piss off Inner….you're fucked, end of story.

**_DAMN STRAIGHT YOU'RE FUCKED! WE DON'T TAKE SHIT!_**

"…You wouldn't dare." Kakashi finally said eyes wide and pleading.

I smiled and said, "If you want to push it fine, just don't come asking me to heal you when my mom's done with you. But, if you leave my teammates alone, there won't be a need for that, now will there sensei?"

He grumbled and sighed, nodding his head. I beamed at them and went over to him, and gave him feeling back into his body, untied him, and said, "Alright boys, let's go get some ramen. As our first real team, on me, how 'bout it?"

"ARIGATO SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Naruto yelled, running for the famous Ichiraku ramen stand, with Kakashi and Sasuke walking by my sides, with me in the middle of course. At that, I smiled a little.

**_You know, this is the most you have smiled in a while. Why is that? _**

_You know, I'm not sure. _

**_Think about it then! I want an answer! _**

_You know, you are very annoying correct? _

**_No. I. Am. NOT! _**

_Yes, yes you are._

**_I'M GOING TO STRANGLE YOU, TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR BODY AND MURDER YOU!_**

_No you won't, if you kill me you die too retard. Then you get stuck with no one because I'm the only heir to the clan. _

**_… _**

_That's what I thought, now could you please, please, please, go do something else? Like maybe that date with Inner Sasuke perhaps? _

**_Yeah, my date with Inner Sas- WAIT A MINUTE! I THOUGHT YOU FORGOT ABOUT THAT?_**

_I thought you wanted to go on the date with him? _

**_Of course I do! But I need time to get ready and such… _**

_*Internal face Palm* you do realize that you can't do any of that correct? All you can do is fix your hair with your fingers dimwit. _

**_FINE! WHATEVER! IM LEAVING, AND DON'T YOU TRY AD STOP ME! _**

_Okay, bye-bye._

And then there was blissful silence as she stormed out of my head and went towards Sasuke's…poor bastard didn't even know what was coming for him.

"I'll meet you guys there, I have some business to take care of, see you soon," Kakashi said, poofing away in a puff of smoke after we nodded our heads.

I was walking when I saw Sasuke's face get very surprised (gasp- Uchiha showing emotion other than anger or brooding!) look across his face and I smiled brightly knowing Inner had just gotten into his mind.

"Sakura," He said in a dark, warning tone, "you have five seconds to run away for letting your annoying Inner into my head."

I scoffed and said, "Or what?"

"Or I can just pin you down and force her back into your mind- so I would run," He warned.

"I'd like to see you try," I smirked, waiting for his attack, but it never came. He simply sighed irritatingly and we continued our walk to Ichiraku's for dinner.

We all sat down in the ramen stand, leaving a seat for Kakashi, and ordered our meals. Naruto just yapped the whole time, never stopping once to close his mouth while eating. He rambled on and on about little things, and then Kakashi showed up and Naruto proceeded to tell him that if he was always late he would never get picked for missions, and Kakashi was promptly ignoring him.

After another half our and Naruto eating through her wallet with how much he ate- damn him- they all went their own ways, except Kakashi. He followed me, which wasn't odd at first, but I quickly caught on that he wanted to say something so he was walking me home.

He walked by my side silently for a few minutes before saying. "I know your parents are out of town, so why aren't you staying with Hinata Hyuuga like normal?"

"I'm not staying with Hina-chan because my parents haven't been on a long mission in years- I don't want to bother Hina-chan for a few months. It's fine, I know how to take care of myself anyway, and I am being trained by Ts-" I cut myself off, almost giving away my secret.

Kakashi looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to finish.

"-By such a great sensei is what I was going to say." I rubbed the back of my head with a smile on my face, hoping to smooth things over a bit.

He narrowed his eye, but didn't question any more. As I was walking up the steps I turned around and said, "I'll see you tomorrow for our first mission, sensei."

He nodded and puffed out of existence. I walked into the house and went to my room to look at the clock and see that I had another hour before I had to meet Hinata for training tonight. I sighed, and because I had nothing better to do, I sharpened my kunai and made sure I had everything.

At quarter to 12 I started walking to our training area, and when I got there Hinata was already stretching.

"Early as ever, Hina-chan," I said walking up to her. She smiled and nodded at me, and after a few minutes of stretching, we started on taijutsu.

I aimed a high spin kick to her face and she ducked, grabbing for my foot but missed as I continued to spin my leg around. She came at me with a right hook, and I dogged by grabbing her hand and pushing her to my side for her to fall on her stomach.

"Make sure your enemy cannot use your momentum against you, it can lead to things like this," I told her, helping her up.

We went at it again and again- picking up speed and picking up intensity, even throwing in some kunai and shuriken here and there.

After a while we stopped and moved onto ninjutsu. We decided to climb trees and walk on water tonight, so we found the tallest trees in the forest, and channeling our chakra to our feet, and we tried to get up the tree.

I was able to walk straight up to the top and backflip all the way down simply because I was very good at chakra control. After only two tries, Hinata got all the way to the top, and walked back down instead of flipping like I did.

Then we went back to the lake near our training grounds and channeled our chakra to our feet again, trying to stick to the water.

It took Hinata and me about an hour to be able to stay stable on the water and fight on it- we were soaked.

We worked on a few more minor things and because we were getting cold, called it a night.

"Bye Saku-chan! Good night!" Hinata called out to me.

"Bye Hina-chan!" I called back.

When I got home I stripped, showered, and fell asleep like a baby.

…

"Can we please stop getting these stupid cat catching missions!?" Naruto yelled at the Hokage after we returned from- you guessed it- a cat catching mission. Kakashi was trying to get Naruto to calm down and shut up while Sasuke and I silently agreed we needed a different mission.

Naruto began saying how he thinks we need a higher ranked mission and about how we could handle it and the Hokage simply told Naruto about why the missions were ranked as such. I zoned out because I already knew everything the Third was saying- he had given me a similar run down when I had started training under Tsunade-sama.

I tuned back in what Naruto started getting the point and the Hokage said, "But because you put it that way Naruto, I will be granting Tea Rank mission- it is to guard a certain individual."

My ears peeked at that, as did Sasuke's, and the Hokage called our assignment into the office.

"My name is Tazuna. A bridge builder of ultimate renown…until I am safely back in my own country, where I'll be completing my next bridge, you'll all be expected to protect me…even if it costs you your lives!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Stiiiiiiiill dont own it, but enjoy ~**

_**Inner **_

_Flashbacks_

4

"These kids are supposed to protect me Hokage-sama?" Tazuna slurred slightly. "They look like children, especially that small blond haired kid over there." He said pointing at Naruto, which pissed him off immensely.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY MISTER? I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!" He yelled, and I grabbed his shirt to hold him back and whispered in his ear, "Naruto, calm down, this is a client. We do not kill our clients unless we don't want to get paid, and not getting paid means the village doesn't get money. And if we kill our clients, we won't get missions meaning every one of us would not leave the village- so pipe down, okay?"

"…fine Sakura-chan, only because you asked so nicely," He grumbled back.

"Now apologize to Tazuna-san." I told him sternly, turning him to Tazuna.

"I'm sorry Tazuna-san; I didn't mean to speak so rashly." Naruto apologized to everyone's astonishment.

"Thank you, Naruto," I said, letting his shirt go and turning to the Hokage.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, for my teammate's rashness- I'll make sure it doesn't happen while we are away." I bowed to him and the rest of the people in the room as well and turned to Kakashi.

"When do we leave, sensei?" I asked him, hopping it would give me some time to go grab my pack and ask my shishous a few questions…. I'm getting a bad feeling about this mission, like something is wrong about it.

"We will meet in a half hour at the gates; Tazuna will be with me for the time being. Make sure you are all there on time, and if I have to I will send Sakura after you Naruto, and you wouldn't want that- trust me. You don't know her mother-they are crazy." Kakashi said, and I took a step towards him and cracked my knuckles.

"What did you just say, Kakashi-sensei?" I asked, pissed off. "Do I need to demonstrate what I did at training the other day again? Or will you get out of here in the next five seconds with Tazuna-san?" I smiled at him, walking closer and closer.

"Tazuna-san, we are leaving- now!" Kakashi said poofing out of the office with Tazuna before he could even blink.

I smirked and looked at Naruto and Sasuke and said, "Sasuke, Naruto," They both looked at me (yes even the angry-pants Uchiha) waiting for whatever I was going to say," do not let your petty rivalry get in the way of this mission. We are a team, just like we are during training, so let's start acting like one. Be at the gates on time too, I'll see you guys soon."

I was walking out the door when he Hokage whistled and said," Looks like she's got all the boys whipped on her team."

And Naruto yelled at him to shut up while Sasuke simply said it in a threatening tone. I giggled to myself and ran to my house. I grabbed a few things that I would need then started my search for my shishou. I found her and Shizune-sempai at a bar a few blocks down.

Tsunade wasn't drunk from what I could tell, but Shizune was trying to talk her master into stopping. They both looked up when I walked into the bar.

"Hello Tsunade-sama, Shizune-sama," I greeted, giving them a hug each.

"Hey there Sakura-chan," Shizune greeted hugging Ton-Ton to her chest.

"Hey Saki, what do you need?" Tsunade asked after downing another shot of Sake.

"I'm here to inform you that I am going on a mission with my team. We leave in a half hour; I'm not too sure how long this mission will be. Naruto-kun pestered the Hokage and now we have a C-rank escort mission. I also came by to ask you a question…" I trailed off, twirling my fingers together.

"Yes Sakura?" She pressed on wondering what my question would be.

"…Can I use the techniques you have been showing me lately?" I asked her quietly, hopping she would say yes.

"You mean the chakra blades don't you?" She asked, getting serious.

I nodded looking at the ground, not wanting to look her in the eyes- afraid she would say no. I was surprised when she put two fingers under my chin, lifting my head to look her in the eyes.

She smiled at me and said, "I want you to use your powers Sakura; I want everyone to know how powerful you are. I want your team to know they don't always have to protect their Blossom- that you can handle yourself. So yes, you can use your powers- no- I _want _you to use your powers if there comes a time you have to. And good luck on your mission, we will see you when you get back." She hugged me, and then Shizune hugged me after putting Ton-Ton down. They told me to be careful and then I was off.

I ran to the front gates and was greeted with Sasuke standing against the front gates to the village looking rather bored.

I nodded at him and went to stand next to him to wait for our charge, sensei and Naruto. I was actually glad Sasuke was the first one here that meant I would get peace and quiet before the loud mouth came along and chewed my ear off.

I smiled at the thought; Naruto really was like the little brother I always wanted- annoying, happy, and protective of his friends. I know he doesn't have any family, and I also knew he had the Kyuubi inside of him, but I don't care. Naruto is Naruto and the Kyuubi was the Kyuubi, just because he hosts him doesn't mean he _is _him.

My musing was cut short as Sasuke- surprisingly- asked me, "Why did you say what you did in the Hokage's office earlier?" He looked away, almost seemingly in embarrassment….and I giggled at this, because the UCHIHA SASUKE was EMBARRASSED about something? - Priceless, just priceless.

He was now glaring at me and I waved my hand and said, "I said what I said because lately no matter what anyone else thinks, you and Naruto have started a rivalry. Right now it seems harmless, but I know you two, your both stubborn and have two rather high prides- meaning neither of you will back down. I don't want my team to fall apart because of some trivial manner such as rivalries- do you understand? Team 7 will be together, now and forever….promise me." I said to him, holding out my pinky finger to him.

"Hn," He answered back, "why should I?"

"Because I do not need to lose another one of my precious people," I answered truthfully. "I lost my brother a few years back to a man named Orochimaru. I-I still haven't gotten over him, and I know in your mind your thinking 'she only lost her brother, I lost my whole clan,' but it still hurts. I always p-promise myself that in order to bring honor to my brother's name, I must get revenge for his death, and I-I will, no matter what I will avenge him." I was looking into Sasuke's eyes and I saw his surprise and something else…was that understanding? I didn't dwell on that though, and continued on.

"No one knows about my brother except my parents, sensei, the Third, Hinata, and now you. I will tell Naruto when I get the chance, but I need you to promise me that you won't ever leave, especially to get revenge on your brother Itachi….please? I know you know what it feels like to have everything ripped from you, and if I lost any of you, it would feel as though a part of me were missing. Please." I was begging at this point, hopping to reach him somehow.

It was silent for a few moments; I was starting to lose faith that he wasn't going to agree until I felt pressure on my pinky, and looked to see his pinky intertwined with mine. I gasped at the sudden contact, and looking into his dark, dark obsidian orbs to see understanding and something I couldn't identify in his eyes.

He sighed and said, "I promise you Haruno, Sakura that I will never leave you or team 7 no matter what. Even to…even to get revenge. I will stay, no matter what, and if I do leave- you can be the one to personally kick my ass and drag me back here, or kill me if I won't go back."

I nodded, and with our pinkies still intertwined I hugged him, and I felt him stiffen at first, then he slowly returned it. I pulled away and said, "Thank you, duck ass."

"Hn, your welcome pinky," He shot back and we fell into comfortable silence as we waited for the others.

**SASUKE POV**

What the hell did I just promise?

**_You promised you wouldn't leave even for revenge dumb ass. _**

_Inner, it was a fucking rhetorical question._

**_So? When have I ever cared either way? _**

*Internal growl*

**_Okay. Okay, I get it. But you are the one who did it you know, and you are going to stick to that promise. _**

_Hn. _

**_Don't you_****_fucking dare 'hn' at me mister! You saw the honesty in her eyes, you know she isn't lying and she wouldn't have been that vulnerable if she didn't trust you. When her inner and I were on our date, we got to talking about the pinkette. Her inner had been talking about Sakura holding in her emotions and not trusting anyone until Hinata came along, then the Third, then you, Naruto, and Kakashi came along. She is very picky with who she trust, and if you think I'm going to let you hurt my girlfriends outer, you got ano-_**

_YOU'RE DATING INNER SAKURA?  
__**Yes, so what?**_

_That's like I'm dating Sakura- are you crazy? Does Sakura know?  
__**I highly doubt Saku told Saki about this yet- she doesn't trust Saki's mental state just yet, so she is waiting.**_

_Fine…I won't break my promise. _

**_Good boy._**

_Shut up. _

**SAKURA POV**

It wasn't long until Naruto showed up, then Kakashi and Tazuna came and we were off- to where I'm not so sure yet. We traveled with Sasuke and Kakashi in the back, Naruto and I in the front and Tazuna in the middle of us.

After walking for a while, in blissful silence, I motioned for Sasuke to take my post next to Naruto so I could talk to Kakashi. He nodded and we switched places, with only a slight complaint from Naruto.

I took my spot next to Kakashi and said quietly, "Sasuke knows about M-mori, sempai."

He looked at me, and nodded at the information. "He also knows about O-orochimaru," I hissed his name, glaring a hole into the ground, hating to even say his name.

At this, Kakashi actually looked surprised and gave me a look that said 'you are so lucky we are on a mission, or I would be grilling you right now.' I smiled at was going to say something else when I noticed a puddle of water on my side, and narrowed my eyes at it.

It hasn't rained at all this past week, so there shouldn't be puddles anywhere. I gave Kakashi a side glance, and he caught it and nodded, confirming my suspicion. Enemy ninja were lurking in that puddle- great.

I smirked as I heard the enemy materialize behind us, and turned when I saw Kakashi ripped to shreds and the two men then went after Naruto with their chains, and because he froze Sasuke pulled out a shuriken and kunai and launched them at the chain, getting it stuck in the tree.

The two men tried to get their chains out but couldn't and disconnected from them, one heading for Naruto and the other Tazuna. I ran in front of Tazuna, pumping blue chakra to my fists and sharpened them till they were pointed and when the man got close, I severed the tendons in his right arm.

"You bitch," He snarled at me. At this point Kakashi had appeared and helped Sasuke and Naruto, who had a hand injury by the looks of it, knocking out there guy and they were all looking at me defending Tazuna.

He came at me again, trying to go at me from the left side, but I raised my chakra blade instinctively to cover my face and hit him as he got nearer, and I nicked his neck. He gasped as he fell to the ground- unmoving.

I couldn't believe it- I just killed a man. "No," I whispered looking at the man, then at Tazuna to make sure he was alright, then at my team.

I couldn't say anything; I just deactivated my chakra blades and stared at the ground, finding it rather interesting. I said a small prayer up to my brother and Kami to help me, I had no idea what to do, all I could do was keep going, and that's what Mori would say.

He would hug me, then tell me that it all came with the life of being a shinobi, that I would have to kill again- accident or not. I would hold my chin up and nod, then go train with him to do what I didn't want to- kill.

And I did just that, I lifted my head up, turned to make sure Tazuna was okay and then looked at my team once more, and Naruto seemed to be in shock, as was Sasuke but he was better at hiding it. Kakashi seemed to be looking at me with a very distant look, like he was reliving something over and over again, and I would bet all my money that he was watching his first kill over and over and over again.

Naruto was the first one to break out of his trance as he then said, in a normal tone, not a good sign, "Sakura…how are you so calm about this? You just…you just killed a man."

I looked into his eyes and saw confusion and something else…it looked like fear. Naruto was afraid of me, Haruno Sakura, the girl on the team and the medic, and he was afraid of me? He was the host of the Nine Tails for crying out loud! He shouldn't be afraid of me!

"Naruto," I said in a controlled voice, not betraying my true feelings, "if I could have spared his life I would have. H-had I not intervened Tazuna-san would be dead right now. I did it because I had to- for the sake of the mission."

He seemed to lose some of the confusion and the fear disappeared from his eyes and I sighed in relief. I walked over to him, and shook my head at his injury. A poison kunai had been the cause, and Naruto is lucky I know how to contradict this poison or he would be a goner.

I grabbed a vial of antidote and injected it into his upper thigh and began to heal his minor wound- it closed in seconds. Naruto's sigh of relief got everyone out of their trances and thoughts and the spell was broken when Naruto hugged me.

I was surprised by this, but quickly melted into his arms, hugging him back. We broke apart after a minute of hugging and then Kakashi said, "Let's get going, we are almost at the boats to get to Wave Country. And Tazuna will tell us right now, just why he lied about the rank of this mission. "

We all looked over at him, expecting an explanation.

He was silent for a few moments before he said, "The country of Waves is a rather poor country, and even people considered 'rich' have relatively no money. And I knew there would be a few ninja looking for me, but I didn't think they would send these types of people, and I didn't have enough money for a B or A rank mission so I had to lie about it." He looked honest enough, but I noticed when he got to the ninja part, his eyes darted around for a few seconds- he was lying about it.

"Don't lie to us about the person coming after you; you have already lied to us once, so stop." I said, staring him down as he cowered away slightly.

"I-it's not safe to say here. I will tell you all on the boat, I promise." He stuttered back at me.

We all nodded and got back into our original positions and I felt Naruto's gaze on my face. He was probably worrying about me, wondering why I was so quiet again like before I had been friends with Hinata-chan.

I wanted to talk to him, to tell him that I just couldn't take killing a man right now. And I couldn't even talk to my parents when I got home- they said they would most likely be gone at the least a month if not more- meaning Hinata was going to be my only outlet I suppose, and shishou.

I looked his way and gave him a small smile, trying to ease his tension. He seemed better when I smiled, and the mood soared a little higher, good timing too as we just got to the boats.

Kakashi got on first, the Tazuna, Naruto, me, then Sasuke. He had been quiet since the encounter with the other ninja, not unusual for him, but he seemed troubled about something- of what I'm not sure.

My musings were brought to a halt as Tazuna said, "The man who is after me is very scary, his name is Gato, I'm sure you have heard of him. He is a billionaire in the field of Marine Transport Ation."

"I know who he is…this mission just got a lot more complicated…" Kakashi stated, listening to what our client had to say.

"He might seem like a normal business owner but he is really a gangster! He is making us pay money we don't have to use his trading routs, and he will stop at nothing to murder me. If he kills me, then the bridge won't get built and then we will really have no hope left for our village. If my workers and I finish this bridge, we can trade with other countries for no money, and start saving our village- that is where you guys come in obviously."

Kakashi was quiet for a few moments before he said, "By the village rules we should only take you to the shore and that's where our mission would end. We would send higher ranked ninja to take care of this situation."

"Then you might as well send me home in a body bag, because as soon as you let me go, I'll be dead before I got home. But don't worry my grandkid Inari would weep 'grandpa, grandpa, why did you have to die!' and my daughter Tsunami will resent all of the Leaf villages' ninja! But you can live with that can't you?" Tazuna said with a display I never want to see again.

We all sweat dropped and Kakashi finally said, "I guess we can stay until the bridge gets finished. It will only be a week right?"

Tazuna did a little happy dance and a few minutes later, the man was letting us off the boat into the Land of Waves. Tazuna and Kakashi thanked the driver, and then he was off. I looked around and saw that the village looked rather sad and run down, but there were a good amount of people walking in the streets.

"I know a shorter rout to the house through the woods, follow me," Tazuna said, and we went into formation, Naruto and I leading and sensei and Sasuke taking up the rear.

Naruto was on edge, looking this way and that way, trying to find anything suspicious, and then he threw one of his kunai into one of the bushes on the side of the road.

We all stopped, looked at where he threw it, and sweat dropped when he picked up a white bunny in shock. A white bunny….wait, its spring, the fur is supposed to turn brown from the sun. That means, someone took care of it all winter and kept it hidden until right now.

"We aren't alone," Kakashi-sensei warned, and that's when I felt a foreign chakra and yelled, "Everyone get down, now!"

We all hit the deck, Sasuke grabbing the oblivious Naruto, and me grabbing Tazuna just in time for a very large sword to soar over our heads and imbed itself into the tree where we all just were. A man appeared on the hilt of the sword, and he had a lightly tanned skin tone, black spiked hair, a pair of dark grey stripped pants that are tucked into camo colored leg warmers. He didn't have a shirt on, but he had another pair of that camo stuff on his arms up to his elbows. He had a sword carrier across his chest, a mask on his face, and his Mist hitai-ate….it was missing the line through the village insignia.

"Well, well, if it isn't Momochi Zabuza, the boy who ran off and left the village hidden in the Mist." Sensei stated, looking at the newcomer to the group.

I looked at him as he laughed-rather evilly- and said, "If it isn't the famous Copy Cat ninja, Hatake Kakashi." He looked at us all and started laughing again and said, "And you brought a Haruno with you too! Looks like I'm going to be taking the old man and the girl!"

"Get in the Manji battle formation and protect Mr. Tazuna. This is my fight, do not interfere, that's the kind of teamwork this situation needs." Kakashi said, taking his headband off of his left eye, revealing his sharingan eye.

We got into position and I tuned out as they spoke about the sharingans' abilities because I already knew about it because of my shishous' teachings. I was brought back to the world when a thick layer of mist covered the entire area we were in and then we heard Zabuzas' voice.

"There are eight targets: throat, spinal column, the jugular vein, the subclavian artery, kidney, heart…so many choices, but what vital, vulnerable place shall I choose?" He started to laugh lightly, and Kakashi's stance became ridged as he tried to pin-point where our enemy is. I looked at Naruto and Sasuke, and I saw Sasuke's trembling form and put a hand on his bone white knuckles.

He jumped at the contact but didn't look at me, so I whispered to him, "Sasuke, you have to calm down. You cannot fight with a mind that is clouded and confused; focus on the task at hand- protecting Tazuna. We all must be ready to do whatever is necessary to protect him, even if it costs someone their life, so calm down."

Kakashi turned to us all and said with one of his fake smiles, "I will never let my comrades die!"

Sasuke stopped shaking, Naruto looked more confident, and I smiled with my eyes closed listening to our surroundings. I sharpened my chakra again, making my blades and turned around just in time to see Zabuza appear behind us.

Sasuke saw me prepare my blades so he grabbed Tazuna out of the way, and I swung my right blade at my enemy.

I actually managed to scratch his arm, but he looked up and swung his huge sword at me. I didn't have enough time to dodge, so I braced myself for the impact….it hurt like hell. I flew back into the trees, and I went through one of them until I stopped and landed on the ground.

"Sakura!" I heard my team yell as they saw what just happened.

"The little bitch deserved it," Zabuza said, "but I shouldn't expect anything less from a Haruno now should I? Especially from the Princess Sakura, second prodigy of the Haruno clan." I got up, and started running at him once more. "Always second because her big brother was always first! But now that he is out of the picture, you can take over!"

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!" I screamed, running towards him even faster. He chuckled and said something under his breath that I didn't catch.

We got into a Taijutsu fight, until I was hit back once more, this time right at the foot of the boys. Kakashi stepped up and said, "That's enough, your fight is with me and me only now! Sasuke, Naruto! Protect Tazuna and make sure Sakura is alright."

The boys nodded, and they brought me and Tazuna over to a tree and they propped me against it. Naruto stood in front of all of us in a defensive position and Sasuke and Tazuna stood by me.

Sasuke crouched down to my level and looked at my bleeding stomach and my cuts up and down my arm from getting hit by Zabuzas' sword one too many times. I had a little bit of chakra left, so I tried to move my hand to my medical bag, but stopped when a sudden pain shot through my body. I whimpered a little, and Sasuke looked at me startled.

"M-my med-pack has ch-chakra replenishing pills, c-can you grab it for me? They are red," He nodded and grabbed one from my pack, slipping it into my mouth for me. I bit it and instantly felt better, so I smiled and started to heal myself and winced when I saw the blood stain on my new outfit: looks like it was smart of me to pack extra clothes after all.

I finished healing, and took the hand Sasuke held out to me to help me up. Then we both walked up next to a stunned silent Naruto staring at Kakashi who was stuck inside a water prison, with the real Zabuza holding the jutsu up and a clone facing us.

Naruto looked so mad, and before we could do anything he was charging Zabuza. But Naruto was careless and when he got too close he was kicked in the head, causing his headband to fall off as he tumbled back towards us.

He wasn't going to stop, that much I was sure of, especially because Zabuza was stepping on his headband- something he worked so hard for. So when he stood back up and charged him again, I smiled when I saw him clutching his headband in his hand.

"Hey…you…what's life like without eyebrows freak?" Naruto asked as blood dripped from his mouth. "Got a new listing for your Bingo Book right here! A guy who is going to be the next Lord Hokage of Konohagakure Village!" He put his hitai-ate back on, tying it tightly saying, "Uzimaki Naruto! Konoha-school **ninja!**"

"Sasuke! Listen up, I have a plan and it involves teamwork!" Naruto yelled at him making said boy and I smirk as I took position in front of Tazuna.

Zabuza sidetracked them with his story of how he became the demon of the village hidden in the Mist, scaring everyone of us out of their wits. The boys didn't even have time to react when he attacked Naruto first then Sasuke.

Naruto got back up first, and put his fingers together for the Kage-Bushin-no-jutsu. Then suddenly we were in a massive sea of Naruto clones, and they all jumped at Zabuza at once, dogpiling him. As Zabuza was getting rid of them all with one mighty powerful move, the real Naruto slid back from the force, throwing a windmill shuriken towards Sasuke. Sasuke caught it, snapped it open, and said, "Demon Wind Shuriken! Windmill of Shadows!" Throwing it towards the right side, passed the clone, towards the _real _Zabuza.

Zabuza retorted with, "At least this time you've had the sense to zero in on my true form…" Then catching the shuriken proceeded to call him an amateur, until he saw the second one. He was surprised, but jumped over it, but had to let Kakashi go when the second 'shuriken' turned out to be a Naruto who threw a kunai at him and managed to cut his cheek, enraging Zabuza.

Zabuza turned to throw the one he got at 'the little brat' as he calls Naruto, until Kakashi stopped the blade with his fist, causing surprise to be the dominant emotion, even from this far away, to be on Zabuzas' face.

"Nice job boys, good plan Naruto." Kakashi said, never taking his eyes away from Zabuzas'.

"Let's finish this Kakashi," Zabuza said. Then the two of them were making hand seals so fast I couldn't keep up because of my exhaustion creeping back up to my conscience. When they finished both of their attacks crashed against one another, rendering them useless. That went on for another couple of minutes before Zabuza accused Kakashi of reading his mind and then sensei finally won when he got a step ahead of him and took him out with one final move.

Zabuza was sitting against a tree, still conscience and the two of them started talking. I was just out of ear shot when suddenly; a senbon needle comes from a tree and hits him in the back of the neck, successfully killing him.

Wait, that shouldn't kill him, Tsunade did that to me once, it is not lethal when it's just a senbon!

I grabbed Tazuna and ran over to the rest of the group, just when Kakashi pronounced Zabuza dead.

"No," everyone looked at me, especially the one with the mask, "he isn't dead. I had this happen to me before during training- it's only to put the person into a death like _state _not really kill them. And you," I said, pointing to the masked person, "you're not a Mist hunter-nin; I vaguely remember reading about their new outfits. What is your business here!?" I demanded, getting into a protective stance in front of Zabuzas' body.

The person chuckled, and teleported right behind me, and before I could react, they whispered, "Mori-san would be proud of you Sakura-chan. It's a shame he isn't here to see your growth, but for now I have to go Sa-ku-ra." And then I felt pressure on my neck, and my vision went black.

-A few hours later-

_Inside her dream…._

_A three year old version of me was crawling after my brother who was eleven with another boy who looked kind of like a girl. He is the same age as my brother and he has mid-back length dark brown hair, beautiful chocolate brown eyes, and a nice personality. _

_This boy's name is Haku, and he is the best of friends with my brother, Mori. They always come home from the academy together and practice their taijutsu together while I just sit there and watch them. I know when I'm 5 my mommy will enroll me into the academy here, so I can become strong like mommy, daddy, and big brother Mori. _

_Even now, Mori lets me try using him kunai and shuriken to get used to the feeling of them, and I love it. I can almost hit the center of the target now, and I can practice for five minutes without getting really winded! Mommy said that I would become a great ninja for the Mist village one day. _

**Wait, Mist village? We lived in the Mist village inner? **

_Well today I get to watch big brothers spar, and I just know he is going to win! Big brother will always be a winner in my eyes. No matter what happens, I know Mori is, and will always be, my hero! _

_By the time I got to the porch, the boys were already at it. _

_Mori and Haku were using their kunai and were deadlocked against the others blade. Mori made the first move and swept his right leg under Haku, but Haku jumped in time to miss it completely. During big brothers off center moment, Haku kicked him under his chin, sending him over to the tree. But he got back up and charged once more, this time slicing Hakus' arm twice and getting one good kick in his stomach until Haku came back at him and sliced his cheek and kicked him in the ribs. _

_Both of them were breathing heavily as they stared the other one down, waiting for the next move. Mori had enough and pounced on him, getting a good punch to Hakus' jaw and another good kick in his stomach. _

_Haku went down, and big brother got on top of him, putting his kunai to his neck and said, "I win this time, Haku." He smiled until he felt the cool feel of another kunai against _his _neck. _

_Haku smiled and said, "Not this time Mori-san." He sighed and Haku helped him up and they smiled again as I started running towards them. When I got close enough Mori picked me up and swung me around, making me squeal with delight as I said, "Even though big brother lost, he is a winner in my book." _

_"Of course," Mori said, holding me in his arms. I took a lock of his black hair and frowned saying, "Why doesn't big brother have pink hair like me?" _

_Haku and he laughed as Mori ruffled my hair and whispered, "Promise not to tell mom what I tell you?" _

_I nodded, wanting to know what he was going to say, "I don't have pink hair because pink hair is only for the most beautiful princesses across the lands. Do I look like a princess to you silly?" He put me down and Haku and he started to tickle me. _

_"NOOOO, don't- don't t-t-tickle meeeeeeeeee!" I cried as I couldn't help the laughs escaping my small mouth. _

_The boys just laughed and finally stopped the assault of tickles on me. _

_That was when Haku said, "I have to go Mori." _

_They nodded at one another and before he left, Mori went and they had a whispered conversation, and before Haku left he brought out a wrapped bento box and waved as he walked to the front of the compound. _

_I was confused though; normally Haku would stay till dinner then go to where ever he went at night, coming back over the next day. _

_"Big brother, why didn't Haku-nii stay like normal? I-is something wrong?" I asked my brother as I walked over to the step he was sitting on._

_He looked a little down, but smiled at e and said, "Haku-san is going to look for a new teacher. He won't be back for a long time, but he just couldn't bring himself to say goodbye to you. You were like his little sister Cherry, he's going to miss you and me and the rest of the family." _

_I felt tears come to my eyes and said, "B-but w-why does h-he have to l-l-leave us to f-find a new sen-sensei?" _

_Mori picked me up and put my face into the crook of his neck and let me cry as he tried to soothe me, but I wouldn't stop crying._

_When I started to stop I said, "W-what will y-you do without H-haku-nii? W-what will I do without m-my other nii-san here to pro-protect me?" _

_Mori sighed, but smiled a sad smile and said, "I don't know Cherry, but I do know that I will always be there to protect you." _

**STOP, STOP SHOWING ME THIS. MORI IS DEAD, HE ISN'T HERE TO PROTECT ME, HE ISN'T HERE TO SEE ME GROW, HE ISN'T HERE! WHY ARE YOU TORMENTING ME! STOP, PLEASE, STOP IT! **

But little me didn't hear me._ Little me said, "You promise me? Forever and ever?" _

_He interlocked our pinkies and said, "Forever and ever I promise to protect you, Cherry." _

**HAKU AND MORI LEAVE YOU! DON'T LISTEN TO THEM LITTLE ME! DON'T DO IT. *Crying* IT MIGHT NOT BE FAIR, BUT TURN AWAY! RUN AWAY AND NEVER RETURN SAKURA! SAKURA! JUST RUN AWAY! **

**I crumpled to the ground not wanting to see anymore, but my conscience seemed to have a different thought because a few minutes later my head was being picked up by some unseen force and what I saw was not something I was expecting. **

_My brother and I were looking at Haku in horror as he showed us his new sensei- Zabuza Momochi. The same man, who is known as the Demon of the Mist, was Hakus' new sensei, but I didn't know that then. Mori was trying to reason with him, but Haku wouldn't have it, and he just walked over to us and told us he would see us again in the future, and walked away. _

_I ran towards him yelling, "Haku-nii! Why are you leaving nii-san and Sakura-chan! What will family do without you! What will I do without you! Don't go nii-san! Don't go!" _

_But before I could get farther, Mori picked me up and was walking me back to the compound. I screamed, I cried, I punched his back telling him to let me go after my nii-san. _

**INNER WHY THE HELL CAN'T I REMEMBER ANY OF THIS! WHY IS IT COMING OUT NO- **

**I fell to the ground in my conscience and started screaming as a flash of a…of a seal flashed before my eyes. It was very intricate, with a cherry blossom petal in the middle surrounded by vines and these coma shapes in the middle, surrounding the blossom, all in crimson. They looked kind of like….no. It can't be sharingan tomoes? **

**'But why would there be sharingan tomoes within the seal?' **

**My train of thought was lost as I felt the seal pulse and I was suddenly….**suddenly awake.

My mind didn't register what was happening at first, because all I saw was a dark blue cloth. But after a few more minutes, I realized I was being held by someone- and that someone was none other than the Uchiha Sasuke.

I couldn't understand what had led to him holding me to his chest, so I looked up at him with quizzical eyes, wondering if he could read my eyes.

"You were screaming and crying." Sasuke said, getting right to the point.

"Then why are you holding me?" I asked my voice hoarse from the screaming and crying Sasuke was talking about.

He looked slightly embarrassed as he said, "You kept yelling 'Mori' and 'Haku' and 'run away Sakura'….and it reminded me of when I had nightmares of my own. I would wake up screaming and crying, alone in my house, and I just….I wanted to make sure you weren't alone." He was blushing like mad now, and I was suddenly realized that I _liked _being held by him.

I nodded and said, "Thanks, Sasuke-san, it means a lot to me."

He looked down at me and was quiet for a time, before he nodded to himself and lifted me off him and went to the matt next to me and faced me as he fell asleep. I blushed, looking at his face he looked just like an innocent little boy. Like he didn't have a care in the world and was just sleeping the day away.

I cuddled into my little blanket, and I fell asleep with a smile on my face, and for the rest of the night I dreamt happy, happy thoughts.

I awoke but didn't want to open my eyes and feel the warmth I felt go away, but I knew I had to. I slowly started to open my eyes and had to hold him my gasp when I saw _Sasuke and Naruto _cuddling with me.

Sasuke had arm draped around my waist and my head was on his chest, Naruto was hugging me from behind and both of them were still asleep!

I didn't want to wake them though, normally Sasuke would be up and it would take both of us to get Naruto awake- Sasuke sleeping in though? That was unheard of. I knew that if Kakashi came in and saw us like this he would smile, giggle, and take a damn picture, but he was my only way out of this predicament.

I spiked my chakra lightly, knowing Kakashi would feel it and want to know what the hell was going on. My assumption was correct as he came barging in- yet somehow the two of them still didn't wake up- and he was opening his mouth to say something when he stopped and stared. He looked beyond shocked at my predicament, and didn't laugh and take a picture, wait….scratch that. He did take a damn picture with his flip phone, and once this mission was over I knew it would already be given to all the Jounin sensei's and members of ANBU, because Kakashi was devious and still a little mad about my little paralysis during our training the first day.

Then after my puppy dog eyes- and another damn photo of those- he sighed and walked up to us on the floor. I had no idea what he was going to do until he said, "Naruto, ramen is waiting for you down stairs! Sasuke, Itachi is getting away with Sakura!"

And suddenly the two boys were jumping up and wide awake, well at least they tried to. Their hands were tangled in my blanket and their legs were intertwined with mine, so they just struggled.

At least until they saw that they were stuck on: me. They both turned bright shades of red that matched my tomato one and they started to untangle themselves (as sensei just kept snapping photos). When we were all finally free I just smiled and said, "Come on boys, let's go get some breakfast downstairs."

I wanted to be mad- should be mad- but I couldn't be mad at my boys. They obviously didn't do it on purpose or else they wouldn't have reacted like they did, so I might as well make some breakfast. Some bacon, eggs, and toast would be nice for everyone, and this way Tsunami doesn't have to cook for once.

I made it downstairs and I saw Tsunami getting ready to cook, but I put a hand on her shoulder and said, "No need to cook this morning. I'll be making some toast, eggs, and bacon for you all, so go sit and have a break Tsunami-chan!"

She wanted to say she wanted to cook, but I could see she was tired from her eyes and she smiled and thanked me and went to go lay down I suppose. I grabbed the pans and greased them and put them on the stove to wait for them to warm up. While that was happening I put four pieces of toast down and went back over to the pans.

Hm, I knew I had to keep making toast, but I was only one person. Aha! I smiled and made a clone of myself and put it to work at the toaster and I started on the eggs and bacon. The bacon was done first so I put the huge wad of it on the plate, and finished up the eggs just as the toast was done. I smiled when I brought the three huge plates out and called, "Boys, Tsunami-chan, breakfast is ready!"

After only a few minutes the small boy I assumed was Inari, Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Tazuna were at the table digging in after saying thanks to me for making it. Inari and Naruto seemed weird around one another, but I shook it off and dispelled my clone. I made a plate of food and walked away and Naruto asked, "Where you going Sakura-chan? You didn't even eat yet!"

I sighed and said, "Tsunami-san was going in to take a nap, so I figured I would leave the food on her end table."

"Oh, okay," He answered then went back to stuffing his face; I swear he eats like a pig!

I shook my head as I walked down the hall and saw a door that was slightly ajar and figured she was in there. I walked in and sure enough she was sleeping on the bed, so I walked over to her and tapped her shoulder as I put the plate down.

"Tsunami-chan, "I shook her shoulder a little harder, "Tsunami-chan, I brought food for you, it will be right he-", and I was cut off as 'Tsunami' put her hand around my mouth and her facial appearance changed to that of Haku's.

When my eyes widened and he sensed I wasn't hostile, he let go of my mouth and I jumped into his arms. I gave him my biggest hug as I whispered, "I remember you…Haku-nii. I remember but…there is a seal in place. I cannot remember anything before the Leaf village…"

He seemed shocked for a minute, but then he returned my hug and said, "You've grown, Princess Sakura."

I laughed a humorless laugh and said, "I haven't been called that since Mori passed away."

Haku just hugged me harder after that and said, "I know I should have come to the funeral, but Zabuza would not allow it, he forbade me from going to the Leaf at all. I was so confused though because he used to talk about being friends with your parents a few years back… But I didn't want to disobey him. I-I'm sorry Sakura-san. I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I would like to ask…I would like to ask your teacher to bring Zabuza and I back to your village!"

He let me go when he asked and stared at me, waiting for a reaction. I was shocked to say the least, but I did like the thought of Haku-nii being so close again…

Haku got down on the floor, hands on the ground and said, "I want to make up for lost time imoto. And I would like to honor Mori-san's death with me protecting you and helping you grow stronger. I know it is what Mori would have wanted if he was alive- for you to be happy, strong, and protected." He looked up at me and I knew I had tears in my eyes as I looked at my old nii-san. My old best friend, my old protector, and started to cry.

I nodded and whispered, "I want you to come home with us, but that means telling my team and village more about me. I didn't really give them much when we first arrived and I didn't really have friends for a while…Mori was the only person I would smile for 24/7, all day every day. But when he died I just…I felt like I had died with him, but I put up a façade so people wouldn't worry. But I never told my team about my brother- only five people know who I'm friendly with, and that's counting my parents. I just, don't know if I can tell them my story about Mori now…" I trailed off as Haku closed the small space between us and hugged me just like my brother would.

We were silent for a while; the only sounds were my hiccups as I tried to stop the tears from flowing down my face. It took me a few minutes, and then I wiped my eyes and stepped away from my nii-san's best friend and looked him in the eyes.

"I want you to come back with Zabuza-san, and then we will talk to my team about…about our history." I finally say, taking his hand into my own.

He nodded his head and said, "I will talk to Zabuza-kun about it…it might be a few days before we return. But know that even if he does not agree…I will go back with you. I will not leave my imoto alone any longer. I swear on my honor and your brothers' grave- I will go back to Konoha Village with you and protect you until the day either one of us is dead."

I smiled a broken smile and just nodded my head. He took his hand from mine, brushed the hair out of my face and wiped under my eyes with his thumbs.

"Don't cry, Princess," Haku said, "Mori and I always hated it when you cried. You know you look like crap when you cry Saku," He teased me and I wacked his hands away as I cracked a smile and said, "Well run back to Zabuza and try getting him to agree to come back. I don't want my team mates being hurt by him; he won't like me when I'm mad."

My jab made him somber as he nodded and teleported out of the room to god knows where. I shook my head and walked out of the room, heading back to the main living area to see Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke sitting on the couch watching the TV, most likely waiting for me so we could go train.

"Your back Sakura-chan! Now we can go train!" Naruto yelled, proving my thoughts correct as I smiled my fake smile and followed the boys to a forest. Kakashi had a crutch under his arm because of the strain on his body- I'll have to heal that later- so he wasn't as fast walking wise, but he still had the lead because we had no idea where he was going.

We stopped in front of three trees that are damn tall, and Kakashi decided to speak.

"In light of what has happened recently, I have decided to train you guys so you can be a little more prepared for what is to come." He let a moment of silence pass before he continued, "As we all know, thanks to Sakura, Zabuza is not dead, and neither is his little pet Haku. I want us to work on our chakra control. I want you to climb to the top of these trees."

"That's easy!" Naruto said, about to walk up to the tree and jump up the tree, until I grabbed his ear and sighed saying, "Not jump up the tree Naruto, walk up the tree with no hands, only chakra and your feet."

"That is correct Sakura," Kakashi said with his signature eye crinkle to let you know he was smiling under that damned mask of his.

"Now start," He said, throwing us each a kunai, "and mark how high you get before you have to jump down. And you might want to get a running start to build your momentum, so focus on gathering chakra to your feet and you can start."

We all nodded and I walked over to the tree in the middle, the tallest one, and smirked.

_**I guess it's a good thing that we train all the time with Hina-chan on this. Now we can upstage the boys again! **_

_Very true Inner, very true. _

I grabbed the kunai, and took to running up the tree, and going all the way up to the top of the tree. "This isn't that hard boys, I made it up here on my first try!" I giggled and heard the boys gasp.

Then Kakashi had to bait them and say, "Well it looks like the only girl on the team has the best chakra control in the group. Naruto, she seems to have a better chance at being the next Hokage and Sasuke, she seems to be the strongest one to take out the person she wants to kill."

I could feel the killing intent in the air, mingling with the determination of my two teammates.

But I didn't care because the view from up here was amazing, and it triggered a memory from when I was four.

_~Forgotten Memory~_

_It was Mori and I, and he was giving me a piggy back ride up a mountain. It was one of the few days that it wasn't raining- which were only about 6 or 7 times out of the year, and this time Mori-nii said he wanted to show me something. _

_He said, "We're almost there imoto, just a few more minutes." _

_I nodded and held onto his neck with my little four year old hands and giggled at the feel of his hair on my hands. He laughed at me as he brushed some of his unruly short black spiky hair out of his eyes._

_Then he picked me up as he came to a stop and put his hands over my eyes as he led me forward. We stopped moving and he let my eyes go. I gasped at the sight; it was beautiful, breathtaking scenery. _

_It looked over the entire Mist village and beyond. We were at the tallest part in the village and I could see the whole thing! I felt so small compared to it. _

_"Pretty, isn't it Saku?" Mori said, looking over the village with me. _

_I shook my head and said, "It's not pretty nii-san, it's beautiful! It's as pretty as mama!" _

_He laughed at that and said, "Of course it is, our moms the prettiest girl out there, and you come in close second." He picked me and put me on his shoulder as he and I laughed he turned his back to the city and snapped a picture of us together. _

_"Now let's head home before mom freaks out and comes after us and dad has to hold her back." My brother said as he started to run down the mountain, just like he knew I loved. I loved the way the air went through my hair and the way I could only see a blur because my brother was so fast. _

_~End Forgotten Memory~_

It brought tears to my eyes because it was one of the times it was just me and Mori having a brother-sister day.

I felt a presence next to me and turned to my right to see Kakashi-sensei next to me. He always seemed to show up whenever I needed someone, but he had to stop that. I had Hina-chan to confine in; I cannot get too close to these guys because every person I get close to gets hurt.

Not this time, these guys are too important; they need to stay safe and away from me.

_**Saku, you know you're not making the right decision. You guys have been a team for what- three weeks now? And you already have ties with them and you know you can't let them go. The Third even knows, so please, for me and everyone else, do not cut these ties. **_

_But what if they get hurt? Tsunade-sama and Shizune-sama can take care of themselves along with the Third. I can protect Hina-chan, but what about them? _

_**You know they can take care of themselves, plus do you think they would let you cut their ties? Naruto would yell your ear off, Sasuke would actually CARE for once, and Kakashi would have to tell the Third you were distancing yourself from him and the Third would have to talk to you and you know Tsunade-sama would kick your ass thoroughly. **_

_…__.fine, only because I really don't need the Third and Tsunade on my ass for being stubborn. _

"Hello sensei, what did you need?" I asked him, looking back to the scenery.

He was silent for a few moments before he said, very quietly, "You were thinking about him weren't you?"

I was shocked to hear him say that, but knew that, especially because he had known my brother, he would know when I was thinking about him. I was going to answer when I felt a sharp pain go through my back. I knew it was the seal acting up- probably from the memory a few moments prior, but it hurt like hell!

I gasped and grabbed my right shoulder. The seal was right on my shoulder blade, so the pain was even worse as my face scrunched up in pain, and Kakashi instantly noticed.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" He was on edge, probably because he has no idea what's going on.

I grunted and had a mental debate over telling Kakashi about the seal that I had just found out existed, or brushing it off like nothing had happened.

_**Don't be stupid, he knows something is up- you're clutching you shoulder in pain when you walked up a tree without your hands, anyone would be suspicious. **_

And I knew she was right, so I looked up at Kakashi and said, "When I was unconscious in Tazuna-sans house, I was in a dream. It had me, my brother and Haku- the masked boy with Zabuza-in it." I took a deep breath and continued, "In this dream I was only three years old, and Haku and my brother were 11 at the time. But as the dream went on, I realized it was a memory- a memory of my past before my parents and brother and I came to the Leaf. And when I was forced out of my memory, a seal flashed before my eyes." I paused and pushed my sleeve down to show him the crimson seal.

Kakashi was speechless, and before he could recover I said, "I have this memory block so I cannot remember anything before I came to the village, except for things that are slipping through the cracks." I let it all sink in before I gave him my final revelation.

"Who gave you that seal?" sensei whispered, in awe after what I told him.

"I'm not completely certain, but, they had to know my family well enough to get by my parents and brother-someone they trusted. And it had to be an Uchiha."


	5. Chapter 5

**You know I don't own Naruto, but apparently this website doesn't. Enjoy ~**

_**Inner **_

_Flashbacks _

5

To say Kakashi was surprise would be an understatement, he was caught off guard so bad he nearly fell off the tree he was atop of next to me, but of course because he is a Jounin he caught himself.

He stayed silent for several moments, probably a million different thoughts and conspiracies going through his mind. I smiled a sad smile and whispered, "Don't worry about it Kaka-sensei, I promise I'll find a way to get rid of it as soon as I find out what it is exactly."

I gave him a genuine smile and didn't wait for his answer as I jumped from my position and landed on the ground near the boys.

Naruto and Sasuke had made progress, and their trees had many marks in the same area over and over again as they couldn't get by it at one point but now they were about a third of the way up the tree. Sasuke was ahead by a few inches, but you could see in his cocky smile that they were having a competition- again.

No matter what we did, they would have a competition to see who got done first, and I hate to admit it but I normally joined this little charade. These guys have changed me in only a few weeks, this is going to be an interesting experience to work with them.

But we have all improved since the first training session with Kakashi, and our teamwork has been at a new high lately. Sasuke and Naruto might always fight and disagree, but when it came time to use teamwork we were all getting better. When we got back to the village I want to ask to set up formations that the three of us can work in.

I knew Kakashi would be all for it considering he wants us to be like a well-oiled machine, you can see it in his eyes every time we have a great moment of teamwork. They would brighten with excitement and longing, but it would be quickly replaced by a look I could not identify.

But my boys needed my help right now so I might as well help them out.

"Sasuke, Naruto, come here for a second." I called to them. Before they even went up the tree one more time they nodded and came towards me.

"Sakura-chan! Can you help us? I don't know what I'm doing wrong!" Naruto yelled as he sat down dejectedly next to me, and I smiled as Sasuke came over to us and took a seat too.

"Now guys, do you understand why you keep falling down when you reach a certain point?" I asked them, knowing I had to do this step by step if Naruto was going to understand how to do this.

They shook their heads and I nodded and said, "I want you to go one at a time and I will tell you what you are doing wrong. Naruto, I want you to go first." He nodded and Sasuke sat right next to me, ready to watch our orange clad teammate try and make it up the tree.

He started running after gathering some chakra and ran up the tree, right past his last mark and then he marked it again and jumped down. I snapped my fingers and said, "Naruto, you keep building up too little chakra before you run, and then you lose your concentration. You have to stay focused or you won't stick to it and you need confidence that you'll make it. Now I want you to gather more chakra to your feet." He did as told, "Good, now concentrate, and go!"

He ran up the tree, this time with more chakra, determination, and concentration. He made it almost all the way to the top when he came back down to the earth, jumping up and down about finally understanding it.

"Thanks Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" Naruto yelled, picking me up and hugging me.

I laughed and said, "No problem Naruto-kun, now I want you to keep practicing okay?" I needed him to get this down so I could teach them walking on water.

"Of course Sakura-chan!" He yelled at me, saluting me as he turned back to his tree and started to train.

"Now Sasuke," I said, turning back to Sasuke, only to see him already running towards the tree.

"Impatient bastard," I whispered to myself, rolling my eyes.

**_You mean HOT impatient bastard._**

_No, I just meant impatient bastard Saku. _

**_Bitch please. _**

I watched him dig his foot into the wood before he back flipped back to the ground and turned, silently asking me my opinion.

"You are the opposite of Naruto," I started, "you gather too much chakra to your feet, causing you to lose your control. So I want you to gather a little less chakra and focus on keeping your chakra level."

"Ah," He said, doing as I said.

On his second attempt he made it almost to the top, just like Naruto, and came back down.

"Nice job Sasuke-san." I said, smiling.

"H-hn." He said, looking away and started training once more.

**_DID THE UCHIHA SASUKE JUST STUDDER!? DID HE?!_**

_Calm the fuck down, it's probably because he was short winded from the jump down here Saku._

**_BUT SAKI! HE NEVER STUDDERS! NOT ONCE, NO MATTER WHAT'S HAPPENING._**

_…Shut up. _

And for once she listened to me.

With the boys training I decided to go find the bridge builder and see if he needed any help. Twenty minutes later I was sitting on the bridge watching over Tazuna-san talk to some of his co-workers.

They were talking about how it would only be about two more weeks before the bridge was completely done. We have been here for about 6 days now, counting the 5 I was out cold, so almost a week. And it will be the 2 and a half month mark for my parents' mission. They might even be home by the time I'm home at this rate.

I smiled to myself, looking forward to seeing my parents again. I really do love my parents, they are what I want to learn to protect and keep safe no matter what it takes. They are the only blood family I have left, no way am I jeopardizing that, especially at my own expense.

"Sakura," Tazuna called to me, signaling me over to him and a few of his coworkers.

I got up and walked over to them, nodding as I said, "Hai, Tazuna-san?"

"Can you help us? We need these cement blocks to be a bit smaller, could you cut them with those blade things you used on the way here?" Tazuna asked me, looking hopeful.

I shrugged and said, "Sure, but you have to mark where I have to cut so I don't mess it up. "

They all nodded and made marks with their tools where they needed the cuts, so I focused my chakra and shaped it to a blade again. I walked over to the first section and started to cut the blocks into smaller bits as the men all stared in wonder at my work.

After about a half hour I had all the blocks chopped to size and my arms were tired from being held up and I was rather low on chakra. I grimaced and took a soldier pill from my pouch and bit into it, tasting the bittersweet taste as I swallowed it.

I sighed as my chakra was instantly back up to normal levels and took my post back to watching over the workers. Nothing really exciting was happening, so I began to think about what training Hina-chan and I were going to do once we got the chance to. Plus I'm going to have to tell her and the Third about my, um, 'older brother' possibly coming home with me.

That's right! I should write to Oji-san to let him know what's going on and see if there was any word on my parents mission and if they were home or not.

I went over to Tazuna and asked, "Hey, you wouldn't have a piece of paper on you would you?"

He checked his pockets and came out with a small piece of parchment, and handed it to me.

"Thanks Tazuna-san." I said, walking over to where I was before, sitting on the edge of the bridge and grabbed my pen from my pouch.

I wrote to my surrogate grandfather and told him of Zabuza and Haku and explained my ties to them. I also told him that the boys didn't know about the deal so until then he needed to keep it on a need to know basis only, and tried to get him to let them both come home with me. Then I finally asked about my parents and summoned my mini version of Katsuya- my slug summon which Tsunade had taught me about five months ago, and I have been working to perfect it since then.

"You summoned, Sakura-sama?" A small version of her asked me.

I rolled my eyes and said playfully, "You know you don't have to call me that Katsuya! Just plain Sakura-chan would suffice!"

She looked at me skeptically, and said, "Noted- you summoned?"  
I laughed and said, "Hai, I need you to give this message to Hokage-sama, and make sure no one is to read it but him. This is urgent."

She bowed her head and said, "As you wish, Sakura-sama." And in a poof, she was gone again, delivering my message to my Oji-san.

I looked up and saw the sun halfway through the sky; another 7 hours and then we will be heading back to the house to eat dinner then sleep. Then we would repeat this cycle of train, protect, eat, sleep until my nii-san came back and told me the verdict of their decision. But either way I knew Haku-nii would be coming back with us if he had to _force _himself on us.

I smiled and then looked back to see what was going on now on the bridge, and as per usual nothing noteworthy was going on. All was well as I looked at the men as they were hauling, pushing, or cementing cinder blocks of concrete into the selective areas where they were needed. I honestly believe they might even finish early if they kept it up at this rate, but even I knew that was just my wishful thinking getting the better of me.

According to Tazuna, they work every day from 9am-7pm except on Saturdays they have off to be with their families, so today would be the last day of work because it's Friday and they have off tomorrow. Tomorrow we would be training some more and hopefully be sparing again, I need to see what Naruto and Sasuke can really do as a tag team before confront Zabuza and Haku if it comes to that.

Plus I want test my abilities against one of the boys or Kakashi-sensei, it would be a boatload of fun for me, using Tsunade and Shizune-sempais techniques against my teammates. I need to see how my skills hold up against my ex-ANBU teacher and two of the strongest genin in our year (A/N- We all know Naruto deserved that- he is pretty badass!).

I wonder what they could do together; they would probably work well…

**_No shit Sherlock, when people always fight and never get along, they fight very well together. But it is always better to work with someone you're close friends with because then you know the other person like the back of your hand._**

_True, and they are Naruto and Sasuke, they can always pull something out of their asses when needed. _

**_YOSH! That's our boys for you! Always getting into trouble, they are naughty naughty boys! _**

_*Sweat drop* Inner, why are you hitting two plushies of Naruto and Sasuke together? … Where did you get those?_

**_THEY DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE! _**

_And what exactly is that? _

**_THEY PUT THEMSELVES IN DANGER DAMNIT! ALWAYS MAKING US WORRY AND CRAP, I'M GOING TO GET WORRY LINES BEFORE I'M 21! _**

_Saku, I think you need to calm down and take a deep cleansing breath. We both know the boys can handle themselves, so just go into your corner and take a nap okay? _

**_NEVER! _**

_SAKU, GO TO YOUR CORNER, NOW!_

**_BUT I WANNA STAY UP! _**

_GO. TO. YOUR. CORNER. NOW. _

**_BUT, BUT…_**

_NO BUTS! GO TO DAMN SLEEP WILL YOU!?_

After another bout of colorful words and phrases, we were in the middle of a heated argument which was stopped when there was suddenly a hand in front of my face.

"Wha-, " I was cut off as I looked up and saw Kakashi-sensei who was staring down at me with concern flashing in his eyes. But as quick as it was there, it was gone.

"Everything okay sensei?" I asked, not sure what else to do but smile and ask the obvious question, even if my smile was fake, who cares?

He nodded and said, "You seemed really zoned out, just wanted to make sure you were still okay to guard Tazuna-san." He was very clean cut and to the point when he said that, but I could also detect the slightest bit of wariness as he asked me that one simple question.

I smiled and said, "I'm fine, nothing a nights rest can't fix in a jiff."

"Okay..." He said, and then walked away, hands in his pockets as he went over to Tazuna and started talking to him about something. That's when I noticed that the sun was slowly getting lower and lower.

Just how long had I been talking to inner? It couldn't be that long right?

**_Time goes by faster here, what seems like 10 minutes is really a half hour of your time. You were here for like an hour chasing me, so time went on by. _**

_So I was sitting here for like 3 hours? Not doing anything?_

**_Pretty much. _**

_Well fuck. _

By the time I collected myself again, Kakashi was beckoning me over to him, and then we started to head back to Tazunas home. It was a quick walk, only 10 minutes, not even from the bridge. It was a relatively quiet considering the boys weren't here to fight 24/7.

But that quiet was shattered once we got to the house, because Sasuke and Naruto were bickering over what side of the chopsticks went on. Poor Tsunami was trying to tell them it was the right side and that Sasuke was right but they were having none of that because Naruto was so loud he was drowning her softer voice out.

**_*Sigh* our work is never done is it? _**

_No sadly._

I looked up to see sensei roll his one exposed eye and pinch his nose in irritation before he just shook his head and walked away.

I just growled in his general direction, knowing he would know I was pissed and snapped at the boys, "Both of you, shut up. Naruto, Sasuke is right, the chopsticks go on the right side. Now can we be good little boys and finish setting the table so Tsunami and I can put the food on the table? Good."

Naruto smiled and said, "Of course Sakura-chan, but I still think the teme is wrong."

Sasuke snorted and said, "Sakura even said I was right, so just shut up you dope."

Naruto was fuming and yelled, "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME TEME!?"

But before he could try and fight him and ruin Tsunami's house, I growled and yelled, "Naruto! What did I just say! And Sasuke stop egging him on you baka! Now one of you goes to the corner over there and the other goes to the other, NOW!"

I huffed and looked at their dumbfounded expressions, and sighed.

"If you can't play nice, you get punished. Now if you both go to your respective corners until dinner, then you will be all fine. If you don't… well let's just say neither of you will have heirs to your clans and they will die out quicker than Naruto running after ramen after a long mission. Get the picture?" I smiled at them, knowing I had finally gotten my point across loud and clear.

They glared at one another once more before turning to go to their corners like good little boys- oops; I meant ninjas, good little ninjas.

Twenty minutes later we were all sitting at the table, and I called the boys back telling them to be on their best behavior. Dinner went well with only a few arguments and we all agreed to rest for the night and get up bright and early the next morning.

Naruto, Sasuke and I returned to our rooms to sleep, and they were out in seconds. I sighed as I tried to sleep, but I knew it was futile. I waited a few more minutes until I was sure they were both out and then I slipped out of my sleeping bag and crept out the door, down the hall, down the steps, and finally made it outside.

I took a deep breath, relishing in the way the salt smell tickled the back of my throat. I always loved the sea for as long as I could remember. I remember leaving to go to the beach twice a year for a few years straight with my parents and Mori, when my parents would take a week off of work and pull Mori with us to the land of Waves so we could have a nice weekend.

I smiled at the memory of Mori chasing me when I was only 5 years old and he was 13. We were running in the sand until I turned towards the water and darted in yelling that he couldn't catch me. He laughed and ran at me, I was in the water up to my thighs when suddenly the sand dipped down and I screamed. But nii-san caught me before I even went under the water and I giggled and he put me on his shoulders, telling me to be more careful.

Mori and I had so many memories together, and I couldn't even give him a proper burial because the bastard Orochimaru messed him up so bad we couldn't do an open casket ceremony. I never got to see his deep, dark brown eyes that would twinkle when he smiled, open ever again.

My eyes dimmed as I walked over to the deck and sat on the edge, thinking about everything that was going on with this mission and the possibility of both Zabuza and Haku coming home with us. I smiled to myself thinking about the possibility of having a brother again, he might not be blood, but he is still family.

I dazed off for a while, thinking about all the new techniques him and Zabuza could teach me.

"W-what are you doing out here?" a small voice asked me.

I turned around and saw Inari looking at me with this sad expression in his eyes and I smiled. I patted the spot next to me and said, "Come here, come talk to me about it."

He nodded and sat next to me, and I put my arm around him and sighed as I said, "I noticed the torn picture in the dining room. Want to tell me the story?"

Inari leaned against me and started to shake as I held him and he started talking, "M-m-my father was once t-the h-he-hero of our village. M-my father wasn't really my father, h-he was a great man who saved me and my puppy from drowning in the ocean." He paused for a second, smiling to himself. "His name was Kaiza, and he was the best father I could have ever had." I felt a warm liquid as he started to cry into my chest, and I held him. I knew what this felt like, this overwhelming grief of one of the people who you love so much is dead.

I stroked his hair and waited for him to finally calm down and tell me the rest of the story.

A little while later he calmed down and continued his story in a soft, sad tone, "My father gave this village hope when Gato and his men brought everyone down. There was a really big storm one day, and the flood gates couldn't stay closed, they needed someone strong enough to swim against the current and close the last gate. H-he volunteered to do it. It was amazing to see him close the gate, and everyone was so happy that he had saved the town." He smiled sadly, then he continued and said, "But because of this, he grabbed Gatos attention. The next time we all saw him…he was…he was…" He started to sob and I rubbed his back and said, "It's all right, shhh."

He continued to sob, but he started talking in between each one, "Gato had his men tie him to a post in the middle of the town, fenced in, and they tortured him. I w-w-watched as they killed my daddy, in front of me, in front of the town, in front of everyone! That's why I don't believe in heroes, because even heroes can't escape death no matter what! It's not fair!" he started to bang his little fists against my chest, yelling 'it's not fair!' over and over again.

Grabbing his little wrists, I pulled him in for a hug and started to whisper in his ear about my brother. I told him about our times together and what it was like when he passed away. By the time I finished, Inari had stopped crying and was looking up at me, and then he wiped away something from my eyes…tears. I was crying.

"It's okay to cry, Sakura-onee-chan." He said, then he hugged me and I just hugged him back.

"Yeah, it is okay to cry, Inari-kun." I whispered to him.

We stayed like that until I heard the faintest snoring sound coming from Inari, and I smiled and stood up with him still in my arms. I carried him all the way back to his room, tucked him into his bed, and said, "Now, I hope you see that there are real heroes in this world, Inari. And your dad was definitely one of them." I walked back to our room and fell into one of the deepest sleeps I've ever had, and I dreamt of my family whole, happy, and with the two most important people in my life- Mori and Haku


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Narutoooooo. Enjoy ~**

**_Inner _**

_Flashback_

6

The next day, Kakashi, Sasuke and I got up way before Naruto did, and escorted Tazuna to the bridge with parting words to Tsunami-chan saying that when Naruto woke up he could meet up with us at the bridge.

"W-what happened here?" Tazuna stuttered, as we all took in the fallen men on the bridge. All of them were knocked out cold and scattered around everywhere.

"Sasuke! Sakura! Guard Tazuna-san, now!" Kakashi yelled as soon as he saw the mist rolling over the area. My palms were sweaty and I felt adrenaline rush through my veins as I recognized Zabuzas' starting attack was the same as the last time.

Wherever Zabuza was, that meant Haku was with him also.

Zabuzas' voice rang through the area as he said, "I see you still have the two brats…and look! That one is still shaking from fear!" He was indicating Sasuke as he was shaking while holding the kunai in his hands, but I knew better than to think that he was afraid. He's an Uchiha for Christ's sake; he would rather die than admit that he was scared of something or someone. No, he was excited, excited to finally get to inflict some type of damage.

And he did, as soon as Zabuzas' clones were all around us he turned his Sharingan on and swiftly took care of the 6 water clones.

"I'm shaking," Sasuke said, smirking, "because I'm excited to watch you fall by my teams hands."

"Hahaha….mwahaha…..mwahahahahahahah! This brat thinks they can take us down Haku! I say we show this little _boy _a lesson shall we?" Zabuza said, appearing in front of us with Haku right by side.

Haku shook his head and said, "I wish to fight with Sakura-san master. I want to feel her blood on my fingers as I kill her slowly for thinking that we would go back with her to that pathetic village."

I felt my eyes widen as I realized what was happening…he was turning on me. My so called 'onii-san' was turning on me, for this bastard who changed him so much.

I was starting to see red because the hurt and betrayal I felt when Zabuza finally allowed him to fulfill his wish.

"And Sasuke over there isn't going to intervene because as soon as he moves, Tazuna-san over there will be dead as a doorknob. So I wouldn't suggest moving over there or else your mission will be a complete and utter failure." Zabuza continued and I saw Sasuke clench his jaw as his eyes averted to mine and I nodded, letting him know I would be okay.

Haku and I walked over to another part of the bridge so we weren't on top of Kakashi and Zabuzas standoff.

**Haku's POV **

I knew what I just did was stupid and awful, but I needed Zabuza to believe me when I told him my emotional ties would not get in the way of this mission. And this new mission was to kidnap Sakura and take her with us so we can protect her from the snake bastard and the village leaders. The village may be where her parents are, but even they cannot stop Orochimaru from getting what he wants, and he wants the Haruno heirs.

Sakura holds a very strong gift, and it is the ability to heal. She needs the right teachers to bring out her potential, someone like the slug sannin Tsunade-sama, and we need to prevent that. Orochimaru needs someone with extraordinary healing skills just in case something "happened" to Kabuto and he needed another right hand medic.

But the first part of this mission was to get her to hate me and fight me so that I can knock her out and run away with her as far and fast as I can.

I know Zabuza might not show it, but he does have a heart, and knowing who she is doesn't help him at all. He remembers her from when she was just a child and I left, and that isn't a sight you forget. He also admires my dedication towards her, so he is willing to help me because I have helped him.

**Sakura POV**

This bastard! Who does he think he is showing his face after he betrayed me like that? I don't even know what to do about this, all I know is that I have to try my hardest to beat Haku and drag his ass back to Konoha with me.

We stopped walking and stared at one another for a few moments, and then we got into our fighting stances. I looked into his eyes and sent chakra to my feet and sped towards him with kunai in both my hands. Even before I got there he had his hands up and stopped my attack. His face stayed neutral as he pushed me away and came at me with one of his own kunai.

I jumped back dodging his weapon and before my feet even landed I sent chakra to my feet and bounded straight towards him once more. He had one hand in the air, which is weird because you need two to do hand seals, unless…He was going to use his Kekkei Genkai!

I instantly changed course, but all I did was smack myself in the face with one of his ice mirrors. Damn him and his quick thinking, I'll get him for that later.

I stood my ground has he stepped into his mirror and finally took off the fake hunter-nins mask. I took in the familiar features from the night before and wanted to cry. My onii-chan was going to use his best move against me, so he can kill me. But I will not go out without a fight! This fight is for Mori!

**Haku's POV **

She looked shocked and scared at first, but now….she has the same fire in her eyes as her brother had. She looks determined, and when a Haruno is determined they normally get what they want. I smirked at her as I said, "You know, you look just like Mori did. It's a shame that he isn't here to see you grow into a beautiful kunochi."

When I said that, I can feel the sadness radiating from her being. I know she loved her brother just as much as he loved her. But in order for Saki to fight me like she means it I have to push her, and I have to push her hard. I started throwing my senbon at her; slowly at first, then faster and faster.

She was covered in needles, bleeding, and she was silently crying. I saw her clenched fist and waited to see if she was going to say something, or pass out.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Saki screamed at me. "You were my brother's best friend! You were my onii-san! I…I trusted you!"

I didn't answer her; I couldn't, because everything she was saying was true. That last part hurt the most because Saki has a hard time trusting people, especially since her brother passing. She is nice to everyone, friendly, but trust is a completely different story.

'I'm sorry, I do love you Saki, but I cannot tell you why I am being this cruel to you.'

If only I could speak those words out loud. She was fed up with my silence, but she wasn't done yet. She started to throw herself into my ice walls. I could tell she just needed something to get her mind off the pain of the needles, so I sent more needles her way, and she screamed out in agony.

Lifting my arm, I was about to do the final blow and make her pass out, but a certain orange jumpsuit wearing ninja jumped in. He looked pissed, scratch that, beyond pissed to see his teammate in such a state.

Knowing he is Saki's teammate, I did some research on them. (You can't blame me; she is my deceased best friend's younger sister. I'm going to keep tabs on her to make sure she is safe, hump) Uzimaki, Naruto, is the holder of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, Kurama.

I could see the tell tail signs that his beast was coming out to play; his whiskers were enhanced, his canines were becoming more defined, his nails longer, and his eyes were the most striking feature- they were a bright crimson red.

What I wasn't expecting was to be pushed back and out of my mirror, breaking my jutsu. That kid had just been the first person to successfully break my Kekkei Genkai. I slipped my mask back on as I stood up and faced my new opponent. He was snarling at me, I could tell he wanted to rip me to shreds.

**Sakura's POV**

Naruto had just come and saved me. He broke through Haku's ice prison and is now fighting him. I need to get back over to Sasuke to help him guard Tazuna-san. I shakily stood up, painfully aware of the needles sticking out of me in many of places. I proceeded to stumble back over to where Sasuke was.

Upon approaching them I could see the look on Tazunas and Sasukes face, Sasuke hid his better but it was still there, in his eyes. They were both concerned for me, but I just smiled and held up a thumbs up at them. They both seemed to relax as I did that and when I was in formation with Sasuke he looked at me and silently, without even having to ask, he helped me take the needles out of my body. We started with my legs, then my torso, then my neck. It took about five minutes for the whole process, but the little pricks hurt like a bitch. I smiled when we finished and said, "Thanks Sasuke." He smirked and said," No problem."

We turned our attention back to the fights, and I looked just in time to see Kakashi using his chidori. My eyes widened when I saw another blur heading for them, and I knew it was Haku. I started running towards them, but I was too late. Kakashi had his hand in Hakus chest, shielding Zabuza.

"NO!" I screamed as I ran over to Haku. Kakashi was in shock, he hadn't meant to hit Haku. As soon as I got there I took Haku, gently, off of Kakashi' hand and laid him down on the ground. I felt for a heartbeat and found a faint one. I looked up at Haku's eyes and saw them open. He looked to be struggling, but he said, "Saki…I want you to know that I love you…I was never going to kill you…"

I cut him off and said, "You are not dying, do you hear me? I need you to answer one question for me and then I will heal you."

He nodded, in too much pain to speak.

"You and Zabuza have to come back to the village with us. You will be under my family's care, and you can become ninja. Both of your slates wiped clean. Yes or no?" I needed an answer, and I needed one now in order to save his life.

I could see the shock on both of their faces as they looked at one another, and Zabuza seemed to reluctantly nod his head and then Haku said, "We accept your offer Saki."

I smiled and started to heal his wound. This was big, and it was going to take almost all of my chakra to do it but I will not let him die.

I blocked everything else out as I sat there and healed him. I could feel my teammates, sensei, and Tazuna all around me, watching what I was doing.

My concentration would not be waved; I refuse to let it waver. I was working as fast as I could. I was about half way down with about 3/4 of my chakra gone. My vision was getting blurry and I was feeling light headed, but I would not let him die.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I didn't have to look up to know that it was Kakashi-sensei. I could hear him softly say, "You need to stop, or you're going to pass out."

I shook my head aggressively and said, "I will not stop until my patient is healed, you never stop no matter how tired you get. The patient comes first."

I was almost done. I was so close to being finished, but my chakra was out, and I knew I was going to pass out. Haku was sitting up now, his chest was almost closed, but it still needed to be bandaged. I had done as much internal healing as possible, and the whole was originally about ten inches. Now it is barely five inches long.

"You're all do-," but I never finished my sentence, because I passed out from chakra depletion.

**Haku's POV**

I went to catch Saki's falling form when another caught it and gently laid her down. I was surprised at first but then I realized Saki had started to warm Zabuza's cold, criminal heart. Zabuza even took Sasuke's travel pack and rested her head on it.

No one said anything, whether we were all too afraid to ask or they knew weird things happen around her, no one said anything. The silence stretched on until Gato and his men showed up and started talking crap.

Zabuza and I told the Leaf ninjas that we would take care of Gato. And take care of him we did, Zabuza managed to cut the guys head off with a fucking kunai. Then we went back to the group, and saw the whole town behind a little boy and everyone (minus Saki) made shadow clones and scared the rest of his men away.

…

A few days later….

**Kakashi's POV **

We are leaving the Land of Waves today. Tazuna-san finished building the bridge with his crew yesterday, and we are walking across it to get home today.

Sakura still has not woken up yet and I am a bit worried. She is a strong girl, there is no doubt, but chakra depletion can kill anyone. She is lucky to be alive right now. But she has Haku and Zabuza looking after her right now. I don't know they whole story yet as to how she knows them, but I will.

While I might not show it a lot in public, Sakura is like a daughter to me. She is the only girl on my team, but she doesn't let that stop her. I need to find out who she is training with because she knows how to heal and use some rather advanced jutsu. But I will find this out in due time.

It was time to leave, we are saying goodbye to Tazunas family. Surprisingly, Zabuza is carrying Sakura in his arms. Inari walks up to Zabuza and says, "Please take care of Sakura-onee-chan for me! And tell her that I'm going to miss her and to come and visit me when she can!"

Zabuza nods and ruffles Inari's hair. "No problem kid," he says, laughing a little. Getting to now Zabuza has been interesting. He isn't as coldblooded as everyone thinks, but he can still be an asshole.

But having him in the Leaf will be a nice addition to the force, and I get the feeling he won't be letting anything happen to our little cherry blossom any time soon.

And with our final goodbyes, we were heading back home with two additions to the Leaf Villages family….hopefully.


	7. Chapter 7

**Yup, nothing's changed. I still don't own Naruto. Enjoy ~ **

_**Inner **_

_Flashback_

7

**Sakura's POV **

All I could see was darkness. There wasn't a single speck of light and it terrified me. The last thing I remember was healing Haku and passing out due to chakra depletion and that isn't a great last memory to be honest. Chakra depletion is known to kill anyone, it doesn't matter how strong you are.

Even though I cannot see, my other senses are working just fine. I can smell chemicals in the air, hear this repetitive beeping noise, and I could feel something touching my hand. No, both of my hands, people are holding my hands. It isn't hard to realize that I'm in the hospital, but the question is who is touching my hands?

I tried to open my eyes, and it felt like I was holding Kakashi-sensei on both of my eyelids, but I pushed them open after a few tries. My vision was blurry but I blinked and looked towards the beeping sound and saw my heart monitor. I looked to my left and saw my mom holding my hand asleep in a hospital chair, holding my left hand. Looking to my right I saw my dad also sleeping in a chair holding my right hand.

I had to hold back the tears in my eyes as I looked at my parents; they were probably beyond worried about me if they were sleeping in the hospital with me. I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my face and I tried to suppress my sobs, but that made my heart monitor beat faster and louder and it woke my parents up from their slumber.

My mom reacted quicker than my dad as she had gotten out of her chair and was hugging me while asking if I was okay and if I needed anything. My dad hugged us both and then went out of the room for a few moments.

I kept hugging my mom until I stopped crying and she wiped my eyes to dry the tear streaks and ruffled my hair.

"You know, you almost gave us a heart attack Sakura." My mom broke the silence and I looked down guiltily, not wanting her to see my downcast eyes. I didn't want people to worry so much about me, I wasn't a kid anymore, and I didn't have Mori around to watch over me no matter what anymore.

I could tell she was expecting me to say something, so I said, "I'm sorry mom, but I do have a question." She looked up at me as though silently telling me to go on. "How is my team doing? Is everyone okay from the mission? Are Zabuza-san and…and Haku-niisan doing okay?"

She opened her mouth to talk but was interrupted by dad walking back into the room with a smile on his face as he says, "I got you a nurse squirt, and look who I also found roaming the halls." Him and the nurse step away as I see Haku and Zabuza behind them and I get a surge of excitement and a big smile covers my face. Haku rushes over to my side and throws his arms around me as he tells me how happy he is to see me awake and that he was so sorry for attacking me.

I patted his back and hugged him extra tight as I really have missed having him around. I felt a hand on my head and looked up to see Zabuza looking down at me-without the bandages around his mouth- and he says, "I…I'm sorry for everything I have done to your team and you. I know attacking your teammates will probably make you hate me but-, " I cut him off by pulling him down into the hug and I whispered to him, "I forgave you as soon as you agreed to come here with us. You are now one of us, Zabuza-niisan."

He looked really uncomfortable, but after a few moments he hugs me back. We stayed like that for a few moments before my brain decided to work as I let them go and they got up and I looked at my parents and said, "Wait, are they not supposed to be under supervision? And how are you okay with this? JUST HOW LONG WAS I OUT?!"

I heard a familiar chuckle and whipped my head around back to the door and saw my team there. "Yo," Kakashi-sensei said and entered with a bickering Sasuke and Naur-chan.

"Kakashi-sensei, how long have I been unconscious?" I really just wanted an answer to my questions.

He comes up to me and ruffles my hair saying, "You were out for about a week, you had us worried Sakura. I'm glad you're okay as I'm sure your family is as well." I looked over at my parents, looking at their relieved expressions as they hugged one another. They were dressed in their ANBU gear which surprised me.

**_Weren't they on a mission before you left for yours?_**

_INNER! You're there now? And oh yeah, that's right, they were on a mission. _

The nurse came over to me and was about to start checking me over when the door slammed open and I saw a fuming Tsunade-sama coming over to my bed screaming about how she told the nurses to come and get her when her apprentice woke up and how incompetent they were if they couldn't follow a simple order. Almost everyone stopped talking- even Naruto and Sasuke stopped bickering- to stare at Tsunade as she rushed over to my side and started checking over my chart and started to do a final healing, not noticing the stares we were getting.

I cleared my throat as I looked at her and said, "Um, Tsunade-sama, you just gave away that I am training under you to Hatake-san, my team, my parents, and Zabuza and Haku."

She looked up and noticed the people in the room and rubbed the back of her head as she said, "Well you were going to find out sooner or later right? I guess sooner rather than later huh," She laughed and then she said she would see me in a few days and got the hell out of here.

"Tsunade-sama!" I called after her trying to get her to come back here and help me explain what had happened because now I could feel the looks from everyone and I did not want to explain everything on my own for Kami-sama!

**_You are screwed Saki. _**

_Royally screwed is more like it._

…

After answering everyones questions and talking with my team about training in a few days and saying goodbye with a hug from Naru-chan, a quick hug from Sasuke, and a ruffle of hair from Kaka-sensei and saying goodbye to Haku and Zabuza (Kakashi was to watch them both until the Third speaks with me and they decide what to do with them) they left. All that were left in my room were my parents, and they did not look like they were going anywhere for a while.

They sat down in the chairs where they were sleeping just a few hours ago and I finally asked them, "Did you come back from your mission just to come and see me?" I know I'm their daughter, but nothing comes before the mission, not even a daughter in a coma in the hospital.

My parents looked at one another, then they smiled and my dad said, "Squirt, we had our team take over the rest of the mission. Hokage-sama himself sent for us to come back and when we came back he told us we would have another mission once you woke up."

I balled my hands into fists as I thought about what he just said, that means they were going to be leaving again and I don't know how long this mission would be.

My mother took one of my fists into her hands and smoothed my angry fist out and said, "I have personally gone to the Hyuuga compound and told them of our situation and they are willing to have you stay with them for as long as our mission permits our absence."

I perked at hearing that knowing I would get to spend time with Hinata-chan and we would get to spar.

My dad sighed and said, "I have also given Hyuuga-san a list of what I would like you work on with his nephew and Hinata as we will not be back for a while." I looked up startled at what he just said. My father is also one of the people who trains me and he has a small list of things we work on for every month, so if he gave him a _list_, then that means…

"How long" I whispered to them, I needed to know to prepare myself for this long separation.

My mom squeezed my hand and said, "Hokage-sama said it could take anywhere from six months to a year." I felt my heart skip a beat as what they were saying was sinking in, but I had one more question. "What is this mission about?" My voice cracked in the beginning and I cursed myself for it.

When it was silent for a few moments I finally looked up from my hands and stared at my mom for I knew that out of the two of them she would most likely tell me. She looked at my dad, then back at me and said, "Our orders are to track down the whereabouts of Orochimaru and if we can engage, to take him down at all costs."

"No!" I yelled. My blood ran cold as soon as I heard the name Orochimaru escaped my mother's lips. That's the bastard that took away my brother four years ago. He is the reason my parents were so sad. He is the reason my parents are so overprotective of me. "Please, there has to be someone else they can send." I was pleading with them, but I also knew my efforts were futile as they cannot ignore an order from the Third.

I heard a whooshing sound and in front of my bed was a masked person, a man judging by his posture and build, who looked at my parents and said, "Hokage-sama is requesting you to leave the village as soon as possible. He wishes you luck and tells you to meet the rest of the team by the village gates. That is all."

"Hai!" Both of my parents answered as the masked shinobi disappeared almost instantly. My mom bent down and hugged me. I was staring at the two senbon needles in her hair, they were engraved with cherry blossoms and had Mori and my names on them. She pulled away from me and my dad bent down and hugged me. Before he pulled away he put something around my neck, it was my necklace! He smiled and said, "You left it at home before your mission, figured you wanted it back."

I smiled and looked at my parents retreating figures. They looked back once more and I said, "I love you, be safe." They smiled and disappeared from my sight. It was the first time I was left alone and the room was suddenly too quiet. All I could hear was the sound of the heart monitor and my breathing. I needed to get out and I needed to get out now.

Ever since Tsunade came in and did a final healing, I could finally feel my body again. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and carefully took the wires out of my arms and got up. I could stand, but I had black dots in my vision meaning I probably needed water. I walked over to the sink and got a cup and drank a few cups of it to quench my thirst and help make me not so dizzy.

Once that was done I rifled through some of the drawers and found my clothes and my weights nice and clean folded in a bag. I then got dressed and tapped into my chakra to see how I was doing; I had almost all of it back which was good. I walked over to the window and hopped up to the sill and jumped down the three stories, landing on my feet.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I was running to the one place I knew I would be safe- I ran to the memorial stone. I made it there within a few minutes and I knelt before it and stared at the names as I have done numerous of times before hand. I found the one I was looking for and traced my hands over Mori's name and a small, half crazed laugh escaped my mouth as I looked up at the setting sun and talked to my brother. I told him about the mission, Haku-niisan, Zabuza, and everything else. I explained how I was in the hospital because I had been stubborn like always and healed Haku until I passed out.

But after a while I fell quiet and just looked at his name, forever engraved into the stone and I suddenly felt so angry. Angry at everything, angry at Orochimaru for taking my brother away from me, angry because my parents were going after that creepy bastard, angry because…because I felt so useless.

I couldn't stop my brother from dying, I couldn't stop my parents from taking that mission, I couldn't stop Naruto and Sasuke from getting hurt, I couldn't stop anything from happening no matter how hard I tired. But that would stop now; I would train harder than ever. Now with my parents gone, I'll have access to Hinata at all hours and her cousin and his team.

I hear Neji complain to his female teammate about their other teammate Lee-san and how vigorous he and their sensei are when they train. Maybe I could find Lee and have him help me with my stamina and endurance. Tsunade-sama has kept my weights at 50lbs on both of my legs and 30lbs on both of my arms so that I can get used to them for a while before she ups them again in about a month.

I refuse to be helpless damsel in distress- I would rather give myself to that creepy bastard.

"Nii-san," I whispered to the stone, "I promise, I'm going to avenge you. I will get strong enough to take down the person who took you away from us. I love you." I was about to leave when all of a sudden, I felt something. It was a presence, and I sent my chakra out to see if it was a threat, but I didn't pick up on anything. The presence was still there, and it felt warm, soothing, and safe. It felt like there was a warm cloud around me, wrapping my in its warmth.

My eyes widened, it felt like this when I would hug my brother, warm, safe, as though nothing could hurt me. I smiled as I felt tears roll down my cheeks as I whispered, "You always come to me at my worst times, huh, nii-san?"

I laughed and started to turn around to go back to the hospital when I felt another chakra coming towards me. I tensed as I sent my chakra out to figure out who it was, and I was really surprised as I didn't know who it was.

He stopped a few feet away from me, standing in the trees, not showing himself just yet.

I tensed and said, "You can come out now."

The first thing I saw was the man's black cloak as he finally stepped into my field of vision. He was decently tall, his cloak had red clouds outlined in white on it, and his right hand was not in the armhole of his cloak as it was resting in the middle. He had ebony hair that was pulled back into a short pony tail at the base of his neck. I saw his head band across his forehead and saw the leaf village symbol with a scratch threw the center of it, meaning he was a rouge ninja. But the most unsettling thing was the fact that his eyes were crimson red, the same red that Sasuke's turns when he has his sharingan activated. But only Uchiha's have the sharingan, so he was…

I whipped out my kunai and got into a defensive stance as I barked, "Who are you, state your business here!" I didn't see him move, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth I felt the cool, sharp blade of his kunai as he held it against my neck.

I didn't dare move- one wrong move and I would be slicing my own throat. The man behind me didn't move a muscle as he seemed to be waiting for me to react to his obvious show of attack. But I refused to move as well, this man will not get the best of me. I refuse to die before I get my revenge.

We stayed in the same position for what felt like forever, and based on the fact that the sun had set and we were now sitting in the dark, I would guess quite some time had passed. I felt a small movement from behind me and I used the not as threatening space between the kunai and my throat to talk.

"Why wouldn't you just kill me? You had me from the beginning, yet you didn't do anything but wait." I was curious as to why he did this. He was obviously very skilled and he is rouge, meaning he has probably killed many people before me, so why hesitate?

I didn't think he was going to answer, but after some time he finally said, "I was going to kill you as soon as you saw me, but you don't seem to know who I am. And you seem rather, familiar to me, so I was curious."

He was right; I didn't know who he was. "How are you? As far as I can tell you were once a Konoha shinobi, but now you are rouge."

He walked back around to face me from the front, and now we stood face to face. (More like face to chest because he was so much taller then I.) He smirked as he said, "My name is Uchiha, Itachi."

I was correct in assuming he was an Uchiha, but the name Itachi sounded VERY familiar. I had a feeling that I should know who he was, but I brushed it off for later investigation. I heard a high pitched whistling and before I could do anything, Itachi was up and said, "I will meet you here in the night after tomorrow. Do not tell anyone I have been here, if you do, you will regret it." And then he was gone, just like that.

I was going to ponder further on the subject until I realized that the nurses at the hospital would most likely be coming to check up on me. I added chakra to my feet and started running for the hospital. I was almost there when my vision started to blur and I miss stepped on the roof and started to plummet to the ground.

My landing didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, but once I opened my eyes I realized why. Sasuke was holding me in his arms as he kept running towards the hospital. I opened my mouth to say something but he shot me a look that told me to keep quiet and I obliged until he jumped through my window and put me down on the bed.

He walked over to the other side of my bed and gently put the IV into my arm and then he kept staring at me for a time. I was waiting for him to say something, anything to relieve this tense atmosphere.

"I came to come and visit you and you weren't here. I couldn't find your clothes anywhere, nothing to tell me if you were still here or if you had been taken." Sasuke kept looking at me, dead in the eyes, and I could see the emotions there. He was scared, angry, and confused.

I looked away from his eyes and looked back out of the window and said, "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I didn't mean to scare you." I meant that sincerely. I had just felt the need to get away from this room once I found out my parents were going to be leaving for so long to go after the same bastard that had killed my brother.

But I was also surprised that Sasuke had come to visit me and then had actually worried about me. I looked back over at my teammate and said, "I don't know why you try to act as though you do not care for others, I can tell that you care for Kakashi and Naruto like they are your family. And you seem to care for me because you were scared that I wasn't here."

He looked taken aback as I said that. I guess he didn't realize I was watching him a lot of the time. I always study people, it's a habit that Mori had engraved into my mind when I was young so I could find out peoples intentions when doing things.

He didn't look like he was going to answer for a minute, but then he said, "It's not that I don't want to show it, Sakura. It's the fact that…I don't know how to show it." I almost didn't catch the last part as he whispered it.

I smiled and beckoned him over to the side of my bed. He walked over cautiously and as soon as he got close enough I pulled him onto my hospital bed and hugged him.

"Eh, Sakura, what are you doing!" To say he was surprised was an understatement. He seemed to fight it for a moment, but once he realized I wasn't going to let go he gave in and relaxed. I moved over a little so he could lie next to me without crushing me.

I smiled as I saw the small amount of blush on his face and he looked away, but I pulled his head back to face me. I said, "I can teach you how to show your affection. It isn't as hard as you think."

He just kept quiet as his blush grew, but he did nod, meaning he was going to listen. I grabbed his hand and held it in between us, and I stared at our joined hands and felt a small blush graze my cheeks. I cleared my throat and said, "Naruto is like your brother, so you guys bickering is just another way for you guys to show that you are really best friends, am I right?"

"Hn," was his small response, and I took it as a yes.

"Now Kakashi-sensei is like a father figure. You need to be able to go to him for guidance; you can't just brush him off if he offers to help you. I know letting people in is hard, I wouldn't talk to anyone but Hinata after my brother passed. After that it has been hard to make new friends, but I'm slowly getting better. I know you can do it Sasuke, and I'm willing to help you with it." I needed him to say yes to this, I needed to help him show what he really wants to do. He needs to show the emotion he wants to show.

I could see him pondering what I had said, and I was afraid he was going to reject my offer and walk away from me. But he held my hand a little tighter and said, "Yes. I…I want you to help me, Sakura."

I smiled at his statement and with the hand that wasn't holding his, I poked his nose and stuck my tongue out at him and said, "That wasn't so hard now was it, Sasuke."

"-kun." He said.

"What?" I was confused.

"Sasuke-kun. It sounds better when you say it then when you just say my name." I could see how his face was panted red at saying that, and I was happy. He was trying to step out of his comfort zone, and for that I snuggled into his chest and said, "You're already showing more emotion then just a few minutes ago."

"Hn," I smirked and put his arm around me, hugging me back and I could feel my face heat up at this action.

We stayed like that for a while and I could feel Sasukes heart beat as I was laying into his chest. It was quiet for a while but I had one more question for him.

"Sasuke-kun?" I started. He grunted to let me know he was paying attention. "Why were you so worried about me not being in my room?"

My question was met with silence for the longest time, and I started to move from my position to look at his face, but he refused to look into my eyes. I tried to get him to look at me but he fought me and finally answered me. He mumbled something but it was too low for me to hear, so I told him to repeat it.

"I was worried because I…I care for you is all." I finally heard him and I took his chin and pulled him to look at me.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." I said that as I kissed his cheek and pulled away to put my head back onto his chest.

"Sakura?" I heard him call out to me.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" I answered.

"Why do you care about why I care about where you were?" He seemed intrigued about my response.

"No one really cares for me anymore Sasuke-kun. Ever since my brother passed the only people to care about me are my parents, Hinata-chan, the Third, and a little later was Tsunade-sama. I don't have as many people who care about me like you do Sasuke." I answered him truthfully.

I heard him scoff and then he said, "I don't have anyone that cares for me."

"No, you have us,-your team- Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Hinata-chan, and Shino. They might not act like it but we all graduated together Sasuke, and that means we will all be going through the ranks together, meaning we will also be doing missions together. We all have a bond even though half of us have spoken less than three words to one another. Many people care for you Sasuke-kun, you just need to look underneath the underneath." I refuse for him to think no one cares about him. He couldn't have been farther from the truth.

He seemed shocked as he didn't say anything, but he soon snapped out of it and the said, "Well now you have people who care about you Sakura. You can't go off on your own and not expect someone to be worried about you when you don't say anything to them. Team Kakashi needs their girl teammate now don't they?" I could hear the smirk in his voice without having to look up and see it.

We sat in comfortable silence as I kept snuggling into him and he kept his arm around me. I was the most comfortable that I have ever been I have been in a long time. Mori used to sleep with me like this when I couldn't fall asleep.

I could feel myself drifting off into my sleep world, but I said, "Sasuke, will you stay with me tonight?"

"Ah," he said.

"Promise you won't leave in the middle of the night?" I asked him.

"If I promise will it make you fall asleep faster?" He asked me, a note of annoyance in his voice.

I smiled and said, "Yes."

"Then yes, I promise I won't leave. Now sleep." He said that and I instantly felt better. I snuggled closer to his chest and I felt him hold me a little tighter before I fell into the deep abyss which is my dream world.

**Kakashi POV**

Snickering as I took some photos of my precious little students snuggling in Sakura's hospital bed. I knew that my students would appreciate this one day. At least after they get married, have a couple kids, and don't want to murder their dear old sensei for this black mail. But I knew I had to take these pictures, for it seems that they happen when people lest expect.

I laughed to myself as I jumped off of the branch to go find Naruto next so as to see if he has noticed that Hyuuga girl following him yet.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ooooooh, hella fluff last chapie. Still don't own Naruto sadly loves. Enjoy~ **

_**Inner **_

_Flashback_

8

Sasuke POV

I can't believe I let her in just like that. People have tried for years to try and get me to even speak three words to them, and she had gotten me to speak paragraphs and even made me promise things I wouldn't have ever thought about. She has my hands tied with these promises about not leaving to go after my brother for revenge, but I don't want to break such a thing with her.

As she had pointed out I do care for my teammates, she hit it right on the nose with her observations. But while she got Naruto and Kakashi's positions correct, I don't think she knows hers.

I care very deeply for her, I'm also very protective of her, she is like my little sister, and I'll be damned if I let anything come to harm her, even myself. No one will hurt her physically or mentally while I am around her.

I looked down at said girl in my arms, she was still sleeping and she looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake her. She looked so fragile when she was sleeping, but that's why you don't judge her by her cover.

Sakura looks like someone that should be a princess or someone of a higher status due to her long pink hair that is very soft and smells like peaches, her slender but now muscular figure, and her very attractive facial features. She looks like a china doll, but this china doll could kick some serious ass, especially because Tsunade has been teaching her.

I was really surprised that she was under her tutelage, but then things started to add up. How Sakura had gone from being tired to being straight up dead on her feet and the days she could not attend team 7 training because her parents would say she was recovering at home. I was even more surprised that her parents didn't know about her training sessions, but when I had asked them after Sakura had explained everything. They had explained how they knew of her training with Hinata late at night so they thought it was from that.

Sakura was just full of surprises, especially when it comes to people that she knows. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that she knows this Haku guy and that she had talked to the Hokage about this before us. When we went to give in the mission report orally before Kakashi had to write it the Third had informed us of their communication.

She is like a puzzle, you have to find out what pieces fit where in order to find out just who she is. Hell, even I don't know her that well. But I sure as hell know that if anyone hurts her they will pay tenfold.

**Sakura POV **

I felt so warm and the weight of something on me. I fluttered my eyes until I could see and saw Sasuke looking down at me, seemingly in deep thought. I smiled when I noticed that he had kept his promise to stay with me for the night.

Now don't get me wrong, I care deeply for Sasuke, but I don't think in a romantic way. I see him as my older brother, along with Naruto, and I see Kakashi as a sort of father or uncle figure. We are a family, and because of that I have changed in more ways than one.

"...ura, Sakura, are you listening to me?" I shook my head and smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry Sasuke-kun, I was spaced out."

He smirked and I bonked him on the head. "Itai! What was that for?" he mumbled as he held his head in pain and I shook my fist at him and said, "DON'T YOU DARE SMIRK AT ME UCHIHA, I'LL END THAT CLAN OF YOURS BEFORE YOU CAN REPRODUCE!"

He nodded and said okay then sent me a small smile. "Better?" he asked me, and I laughed at how awkward he looked while smiling. He scowled at my reaction and tried to get off the bed but I grabbed his hand and pulled him back. I kissed his cheek and said, "Thank you for keeping your promise Sasuke."

He grunted and poked my forehead with two fingers saying, "Didn't I tell you to call me 'Sasuke-kun'?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Yeah yeah, okay Sasuke-kun."

**_Daw isn't that cute, Saki and Sasu are having a moment._**

_Shut up inner, you know how I feel about him, he's basically my brother! _

**_Mhm, suuuuure, a brother. You mean your future husband? The one you dream about? _**

_SHUT UP INNER, THAT DREAM WILL BE NO MORE!_

**_Hahahahahahahahahahahaha, riiiiiiiiight! Till later, Sakura Uchiha!_**

I growled at my inner but stopped once I realized that I had just said that all out loud, in front of said Uchiha. Damnit! I hadn't talked to her like that in a long time, but I slipped up. As I looked at Sasuke I could see the shock in his eyes as he kept looking at me.

He looked like he wanted to ask me a question, but before he could I raised my hand and said, " I have this inner voice that likes to argue with me a lot, and I'm sure you're surprised because you have one too?"

I wouldn't know he had one if inner didn't keep going on and on about him whenever Sakura had down time.

He rubbed the back of his neck as he nodded and after a second he asked, "Did you mean what you said?"

I was confused, and it must have showed as he clarified shortly after, "I mean, did you mean what you said about me...me being like your brother?" He seemed to have a hard time getting the rest of his sentence out as he said that.

I locked gazes with him and firmly nodded.

He sighed and said, "Thank Kami, I was thinking the same thing. I was going to have to kill you if you became a fan girl like everyone else." he sent me a challenging smirk as he jumped off my bed before I could hit him again.

I sent him a smirk of my own and said, "Don't worry Uchiha, that's never going to happen. But I could tell Ino about our little sleep over last night and then half the village will know by noon. But it is your choice so would you rather let me hit you or have Ino gossip about us?"

I could see the horror that flashed through his eyes before he went back to having no emotion in his eyes as he taunted e by saying, "Bring it on Haruno."

Smirking, I once more took the wires from my arms, walked over to the window and this time, I wasn't wobbly. I just perched, sent him my most sickly sweet smile and back flipped out of the window. As soon as my feet touched the ground I ran for Ino's and told her everything.

We might not be on the best of terms, but she loves gossip no matter where it comes from, and this would set the gossip world on fire.

...a few hours later

I was dispatched once I got back to the hospital and they did a final checkup telling me I was as healthy as a horse. And right now I was running away from my very angry teammate as he was trying to kill me.

I was right in assuming that he thought I wouldn't do it, but I had no qualms about it. I all but skipped away from Ino's once I lit the fire that caused Sasuke to be pursued by his fan girls all day trying to get him to tell them that it wasn't true.

Even now they were running after us, but once we reached a certain area they all backed off and I ran behind Kakashi-sense and hid from Sasukes sight.

**3****rd**** POV**

Kakashi was rather intrigued to see two of his calmer and not caring students were playing a game of cat and mouse. He smiled when he saw that even though Sasuke looked like he wanted to murder Sakura, it was only a playful murder.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at Sasuke and Naruto was the one to break the rather interesting picture.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU TWO? IT'S LIKE A DAY GOES BY AND YOU TWO ARE ALL BUDDY BUDDY!" Naruto sounded so lost that it was funny to the rest of them.

Sakura started laughing and Sasuke walked over to where Sakura was and ruffled her hair causing a glare from said pinkette.

"It only takes a day dobe, to understand where you stand with someone." It was Sasuke that answered for them, surprising Naruto and even Kakashi put on a surprised face.

"Wait, DOES THAT MEAN YOU ARE DATING?"

Naruto yelled once more and Sakura went over and bopped him on the head giving him a bump on his head which he grabbed while crying about how Sakura's strength wasn't fair.

Sakura wiped her hands off and addressed Naruto and Kakashi by saying, "No, we are not dating. We have simply figured out the family standings on this team."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow at her to tell her to go on.

"To explain," She started, "Kakashi is like the father figure in the team, always protecting us from enemies when need be. Naruto and Sasuke are like the two sons or brothers on the team and I am the little sister. Make sense now?"

Realization came across the other twos expressions and they nodded. Sasuke came up and grabbed Sakura's hand saying, "Last night, I went to Sakura to talk to her." Sasuke looked very uncomfortable being the one in the spotlight, especially because this was the most he had ever spoken to anyone other than Sakura, but he pushed on- he wanted his team to know what he wanted to say. "I wanted advice on how to let people know how I feel. And I just want to say that...I care..." he ended in a mumble. Sakura squeezed his hand in reassurance and he spoke up. "I care about you guys, you are like my...like my family. And even if I don't show it, I really...really love you guys."

Surprise was written over everyone's faces, even Sakura's. They hadn't spoken about telling the team his feelings, but she was proud because that meant he really wanted to show his feelings.

There was a silence that followed, but it wasn't awkward like normal, it felt right. But of course it wouldn't last as Haku and Zabuza came into the clearing and started to laugh as they made their way towards them.

Sakura looked over at Haku and ran over to him, throwing her arms around his torso and stuffed her face into his chest.

Now, looking at them from afar, you would think that they were brother and sister judging from the way they were hugging and looked so right together. But in reality Haku was surprised that she was so loving, just like she was in the hospital when he gave her a hug and groveled for her forgiveness. Even though she had forgiven him and Zabuza, he still felt as though he doesn't deserve her forgiveness.

**Sakura POV**

I could feel the way he hugged me back, it was hesitant.

I looked up towards his face and I could read the emotions in his eyes- he didn't think I should do this. I sighed and pulled away while saying, "You know I already forgave you, so stop giving me that look. I have no reason not to trust you or Zabuza-niisan. I'm also guessing my team doesn't hate you because they don't have a killing aroura while they are in your presence."

Haku-nii chuckled when I said that and we pulled apart and I walked over to Zabuza-nii to hug him too and then I went back over to my team to see what we were going to be doing for the day.

Kaka-sensei cleared his throat and said, "Well, today we are going to spar against one another, and because our guests are going to be here for a while, so they will be stepping in to help you with your training sessions. The pairs will be Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura and myself."

"Why do you get to spar with Sakura-chan?" Naruto whined.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Because you and Sasuke are better suited to spar against one another, so it will be this way for a while."

"Actually, Sakura," Kakashi chuckles, "I want to work on things with you and then you are going to spar both of them."

"WHAT!" I yelled at him. "Just because I train with Tsunade doesn't mean I can take them both on damnit!"

I was furious that Kakashi was setting me up to fail, I mean I know I'm skilled, but I don't want to face BOTH of my teammates. I wouldn't do it, I refuse to do this, and he can't make me!

"Now now, Sakura-chan, don't go thinking that you can't do this, and you can't get out of it so don't even try." Damn, Kakashi knew me too well.

I sighed in defeat and Sasuke and Naruto went over to the other side of the clearing so Kakashi and I would have our own space.

"Haku, Zabuza," Kaka-sensei started, "you can split up and one of you come watch our fight while the other goes to watch Naruto and Sasuke."

They looked to one another, nodded, and I saw them look at me. I was confused until I realized they wanted me to choose who to watch my fight. Without hesitating, I pointed to Zabuza and turned to go towards my opponent.

A few moments later Zabuza was standing by our fight and was waiting for us to begin.

I was reaching down to my kunai pouch when Kakashi spoke. "I want you to use the techniques that Tsunade-sama has taught you," he gave his one eye crinkle smile, "I want to see just how much team sevens cherry has blossomed."

I smirked and then said, "Deal." He nodded and went to go grab his precious book when I interrupted him. "You might want to pay attention this time around Kakashi." I disappeared and reappeared right behind him with my kunai to his neck. "Tsunade-sama is a great teacher, and she didn't only teach me medical ninjutsu. If you don't pay attention you might get tad _hurt_."

I could feel Kakashi stiffen and I smiled knowing I had had a least a little effect on him. I could feel adrenaline running through my veins as a foreign feeling came over me, and I could feel my head pulsing like I had a headache.

**_Uh, Saki? Are you okay? You sound a little…scary._**

_I'm just fine inner, why do you say that? _

**_Well for one you just threatened to hurt Kakashi-sensei and I know you can feel that weird feeling in your head and it isn't a head ache. _**

_I'll be fine._

**_If you go off the wagon like when we were training with Tsunade I _****will ****_take over and stop you. Then I will inform them of why you have been 'taken over'._**

_…_

I didn't answer her because I knew she meant business. I stepped away from Kakashi and we started our spar. We went at it for a few minutes with kunai and shuriken and we jumped apart and Kakashi made a hand sign and disappeared.

Hm, left- no, right-no, behind-no, in front-no, above-no, that means…BELOW!

I made a battle cry as I laced chakra into my fist and punched the ground, shattering it in the process. I could see Kakashi's face pale as he realized that Tsunade was teaching me how to really fight. (A/N I know this happens at the beginning of Shippuden, buuuuuuut I wanted to put it in now so Kakashi could see just how much Tsunade has been training her :P)

He collected himself promptly as I rushed towards him, pulling my fist back to come at him with taijutsu. He jumped out of the crater with me following closely behind him and he kept running until he disappeared and I was stuck cursing myself for not realizing before that he was a decoy. I paused and tried to sense his chakra, and found that he was only a few meters to my right.

I smiled as I walked to the right, but I felt something grab my ankle and suddenly I was upside down in a tree hanging from my ankle. I can't believe I was caught in this little trap! Growling I took a knife I have strapped into my boot and sliced the rope, flipping to land on my feet.

"Ah, so even though you got caught, you still found a way around it. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, you are smarter than Naruto." Kakashi said coming into my line of sight. "Now, our spar is over, but I do want to see what else Tsunade-sama has taught you, especially that chakra thing that you used on the mission."

"Hai, sensei." I smiled, knowing he would be surprised as to how much I have learned over the past 6 years.

…..a little while later…..

I showed sensei most of what Tsunade-sama has taught me, I left a few things out because they weren't perfected or Tsunade didn't want me to show yet. He was surprised at what she had taught me, but he had also seemed happy that I wasn't just dillydallying in my training.

Even Zabuza was impressed with my skill, but he hid it well. All he said was, "I might not have known your brother, but even I know he would be proud of you." That one hit hard as I smiled and thanked him.

Now, we were heading over to Sasuke and Naruto's spar to see how they were fairing. Sasuke had the upper hand by a noticeable amount, but Naruto never gives up no matter what the odds are. Haku-nii was watching over their spar and said a few things to correct them as the spar went on.

Looking at Sasuke's face, I remembered something…like I was just looking at someone that looks like an older version of him…That's right! I met _the _Itachi Uchiha! Wait…why did I remember that now? Realization dawned on me and I was furious because I knew the bastard put a genjustu on me to not recognize who he was, even after he told me his name. That bastard is going to pay when I see him later!

I was snapped back into reality when I saw Sasuke and Naruto stop fighting and nod at one another.

Sensei took this as his opportunity to speak as he said, "Judging from the three of your chakra levels and your tired eyes I would say that none of you could survive a sparring match against a puppy let alone each other. So that's it for the day, I will see you guys tomorrow around 4 at the usual meeting spot, until then, Ja Ne!" He was gone like he wind.

I heard a caw right before sensei's little spiel and looked up to see a hawk circling above us. But as soon as Kakashi disappeared, so did the hawk, interesting.

I didn't dwell on it as I looked at my teammates and at both of my nii-sans and said, "Who wants to go get ramen for dinner?"

"OH, ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME MMEEEEEEE!" I heard Naru-chan yell.

Sasuke nodded and Haku and Zabuza said yes as well, so we made our way towards our favorite ramen stand in the village.

We got there, ordered our food and sat down. Naruto sat to the right of Sasuke while I sat the left of Sasuke and Haku sat next to me with Zabuza next to him.

Lighthearted conversation flowed between Sasuke Naruto and I, and Zabuza and Haku were having their own conversations about who knows what.

We got our food, said our thanks and dove in. The food was amazing as per usual and once we were all done Naruto headed home while Sasuke accompanied me to the Hokage's tower to drop off our two guests.

I said goodnight and hugged them both and kissed them on the cheek and then Sasuke and I were off. We were heading in the wrong direction and I knew I would have to tell Sasuke where I was staying for now. Due to my parents being on their long mission, I am staying with the Hyuuga's, but I have yet to inform my team of that little detail.

I sweat dropped and said, "Sasuke-kun," he grunted, telling me he was listening, "I am actually staying with Hinata-chan for the time being."

Sasuke looked mildly surprised as he said, "The Hyuuga's? Why are you staying with them?"

"Well, when my parents go on missions, I normally stay with them because they don't want me to be alone. My parents are on an extended mission and they do not know how long it will take, so I am with them until my parents return from their mission." I explained

He thought about it for a moment and then said, "I suppose that makes sense, she is your best friend after all. I'm still walking you there though whether you like it or not." He smirked and I bonked him on his head yelling at him to smile because he looks more approachable.

He laughed a small laugh and them picked me up and ran me all the way to the compound. The whole time I was laughing and yelling at him to put me down or else I really would end the Uchiha line. We arrived at the gates and I turned to him to tell him goodnight.

I was surprised when I felt him hug me, but I hugged him back and pulled away to go inside. He spun me back around, kissed my cheek and told me goodnight.

He left me blushing madly at the front gate of the compound and I ran inside to Hinata's quarters and startled her as I said, "Sasuke-kun just kissed my cheek and left me here."

Hinata laughed as she realized what I was saying and she lost control as she rolled on the ground laughing, and I heard footsteps coming toward her room and knew who it would be before he even came in.

Neji came running in and asked, "Are you okay, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata kept laughing but managed to get out, "I-I'm fine. Sakura-chan is just confirming something me and you already know!"

I was confused as I looked at Neji as he smirked and laughed with Hinata. "Wait, what do you guys know?"

"Oh, it's nothing Haruno." Neji answered for the both of them.

"Sasuke and I are like brother and sister, so I was confused when he kissed my cheek. What am I missing?" I stated, hoping to clear something up.

Hinata answered this time saying, "Y-you will e-eventually see the bigger picture S-sakura-chan. Don't worry."

I gave up on trying to figure it out and told her I was going to bed and I walked out of her room, followed by Neji, and headed to the guest room that would be mine for the duration of my stay. Neji bid me goodnight as I walked into the room and bid him the same. Now, all I have to do is wait till around 8 to go and meet up with Itachi. It's only 6, so I can go and take a shower to freshen up for our little meeting.

Just you wait Itachi; I'm going to pry answers out of you, no matter what I have to do.


	9. Chapter 9

**BOI- Yeah no I still don't own Naruto. Enjoy ~ **

_**Inner **_

_Flashback_

CH. 9

To say I was surprised when Itachi was actually at the meeting place would be an understatement. I don't know why I was surprised, but I was. Maybe it was because that even though he threatened me to come, someone of his stature would stand me up as he looked from afar and laughed at my stupidity. But this is Itachi Uchiha, someone who you do not want to mess with no matter who you are, even if you are Kami himself; you do not mess with him.

I approached him silently as I looked at his form. He had on the same black cloak that he was wearing the last time I saw him. The only difference was that, instead of his collar being all the way up, in was rolled down so I could see his face.

Looking at his face, resembling Sasuke's in so many ways, my anger from earlier came back and I narrowed my eyes and said, "Did you really need to put a fucking genjustu on me during our first meeting? Some would say that is not very gentleman like to do that to a young girl." You could hear the anger and snarkiness in my voice as I balled my hands into fists and tried to stay as still as possible.

"Hn, I wouldn't say it is ungentlemanly to do that, more like a precaution on my part." He answered me smoothly and without any delay.

The only thing that irked me was the 'hn' because Sasuke does the same damn thing and it annoys the hell out of me. My eyebrow twitched as I said, "I guess I know where Sasuke gets his signature catchphrase from, eh, Itachi?"

He nodded and simply said, "So you remember."

I nodded and waited for him to continue, hopefully telling me why he wanted me to come here.

Sadly, that is like waiting for paint to dry before you go on with your life, because he seems way too comfortable with this damn silence.

I cleared my throat and said, "Well, if you wouldn't mind, I'm going to continue sleeping like everyone else at this hour."

I turned to walk away, but stopped when I felt a hand on my arm and saw Itachi's hand on my arm. Surprised, I tried to pull away, but he seemed like he really wanted to tell me something.

"Ever since I ran into in the woods two nights ago, I have been keeping a watchful eye on you." He went right into an explanation. "I have noticed that you are on my little brothers' team, and that is what makes you valuable to me."

I stayed quiet but stepped away from him as he said I was 'valuable' to him. Even if his voice betrayed nothing, there was something lingering beneath the surface, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

We kept eye contact, and I know it's stupid to do, but I knew he wouldn't put me under a genjustu this time, he actually wants something.

"You are going to do something for me, and in return, I'll tell you something you would kill to know." He said, and I rolled my eyes at his statement.

"You are about as cuddly as a fucking porcupine you know that? You could at least say ple-", he cut off my remark as he flashed before me and appeared behind me with a kunai to my neck.

"Would you like to continue that statement, Haruno?" He sounded really collected- that's what scared me the most.

I would have moved my neck, but that would just be suicide- literally. So instead I said, "No I wouldn't."

"Good," He said, but he kept the kunai at my neck, probably to scare me into realizing that I have no power and to stop my sarcastic remarks. He's smart for doing that, I would have continued to poke fun at him and he would most likely kill me before he even explained to me what to do.

"Now little blossom, "He started, "you are going to stop your uncle from killing the Third Hokage."

I was stunned, my uncle? The one I can't seem to remember very well?

"M-my uncle? Does he happen to be the leader of the Sound Village?" I asked, hoping against hope that it wasn't. How could someone from my family want to murder Lord Hokage?

"Yes, he is. His name is Orochimaru and he is planning to murder the Third during the Chunin Exams." Itachi sounded the same no matter what he was saying didn't he? I inwardly sweat dropped.

I thought about what he was saying to me. He wants me to stop my own uncle from killing the Third. If he is strong enough to take on Lord Hokage that means I'm going to have to kill him doesn't it. Or at the very least, subdue him until the authorities can take over. There were over a hundred different strategies going through my head, and I liked a few of them, but I knew Itachi wanted at least some sort of answer to tell him that I am accepting this task…..Wait a minute, Orochimaru? As in the person who killed my brother? It can't be…no, even if it seemed impossible, it couldn't be the same person.

A few moments ago, Itachi had removed himself from me and walked a few feet away so I could actually look at him.  
"I know you didn't really give me a choice, but I am going to accept your offer." He nodded, and turned to walk away but I yelled out to him. "Wait!" He stopped walking, but I knew he was listening. "What was the 'information that I would kill for'?"

I didn't have to see the look on his face to hear the smirk in his voice as he said, "Your beloved brother, Mori, he is still alive." Before what he said could register he turned into crows and flew away.

…Silence. All that met my ears was silence. There were no birds moving about in the trees, no bugs humming into the warm night air, no rustle of the leaves, there was nothing. Nothing but the sound of my heart beat pounding against my ribcage as my mind finally caught up to what he had just said.

Mori. He said Mori was alive. But how is that possible? We had a funeral, closed casket because there was no body to burry, simply his memory left behind but never forgotten. Everyone on that mission had eve said that his body was burned to a crisp in the midst of the battle, so how could he have survived?

My breath was coming out in short, uneven bursts and I felt the tears stinging my eyes, and I felt as though I was going to collapse. I started to wobble and braced myself for the impact, but it never came. I felt a pair of strong arms around my body as fell and I instantly felt better.

I had my head buried in his shoulder as he picked me up and proceeded to carry me back to the Hyuuga compound. We didn't say anything for a few moments, and as per usual he was the one that broke the silence. "Why would you be meeting up with_ him _of all people? Is he not the one who causes your teammate such distress all the time?"

I smirked and said, "Well, Neji, why are you asking questions when _you _are the one who followed me and ease dropped on our conversation?"

He stopped walking and looked down at me with calculating eyes, knowing I was trying to change the subject but that I was also correct in my own question.

"I just had a feeling that you weren't safe, and it would not be good for the Hyuuga clan to be so unreliable as to let the daughter of someone who is of good friends with us die because of our lack of competence. Now answer my damn question." He was getting impatient with me, so I knew I would have to tell him.

I gave him a look and said, "You are to tell no one, not even your diary Hyuuga, I mean it. It's not like your sappy notes about Tenten or how you really care for Hinata, this is serious."

He looked taken aback that I knew he had a diary. "How-"

"Hinata and I go snooping when you're not home."

"….I'll have to find a better place to hide that damn thing." He was blushing really hard when he said that, and I laughed a little bit. I looked at him, collecting myself, waiting for his answer.

"I promise Sakura, I won't tell anyone…not even my diary." He said, mumbling the last part.

"Good, now put me down and lead me to a place where we can talk about this." He complied, putting me down on my own two feet again. I stumbled a bit as I remembered just why I had felt so dizzy, but quickly composed myself, hoping he hadn't seen my mask fall.

He turned towards another direction and started leading me farther into the woods. My ears were met with a serious silence between the two of us, but the woods around us were alive with sound. Crickets were harmonizing with one another, other insects were voicing their own opinions, and the slight breeze carried the sound everywhere at once. I could also hear the faint sound of what seemed like rushing water.

My suspicion was right as Neji stopped walking when we made it to the small waterfall. He walked over to the rocks close to the water and sat on one, with me following closely behind as I sat on the rock across from his.

Neji was looking into the water, but he said to me, "You don't have to hide it you know. Hearing something so…how shall I say, disturbing? It can take quite a t-"

"Do you want to know why I met up with him or not?" I cut him off, looking down. I didn't want to meet his eyes; I don't think I could handle it, not when he was talking about Mori. The mere thought of what Itachi said being true stung my heart.

It's been six years since he died, so why wouldn't he have come home? Why wouldn't he come back to our family? Doesn't he know what mom and dad went through? What I went through? If he were alive he would have found a way back, he would apologize for being gone for so long. Mori wouldn't just leave me here. He would want to see me grow and become a shinobi, so how could he be alive? Mori would never put anyone through this pain.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I felt Neji touch my arm. "Yes, I would like you to tell me."

I sighed, trying to collect myself and I told him of the meeting a few nights ago. About how he put me in a genjustu to, everything I could think of all leading up until tonight.

He processed it for a few moments then said, "Why would you not tell someone as soon as you realized it was him, even if he did threaten you? The Hokage would have had someone go with you and take him into custody. You could have taken down one of the #1 ranked villains this village has."

"I didn't think about it to be honest. He threatened safety of people I care about, even if he didn't come right out and say that; I was not going to mess with his conditions. He could have found out and not had come or ambushed us or any other number of things could have gone wrong. I refuse to risk others for my safety because that would be stupid." Ever since Mori had passed, I never wanted to be the person people would have to save. I never wanted to be a burden to anyone, no matter the situation.

Mori was always the one to save everyone; he was just that good of a shinobi. Nothing could get under his radar, his accuracy was perfect, and he was so smart. Many called him a genius just like Itachi had been (they were a year apart, Itachi being my brothers senior). But he was also a goofball, funny, lovable, and the best brother anyone could ask for.

The same hands that he used to assassinate criminals and break the necks of those trying to hurt our village also held me tenderly when I was a baby or when I needed a friend. He would sleep with me at night if I was afraid when mom and dad were gone on a mission, he would help me with little things like kunai and shuriken training (They were blunt obviously, he taught me when I was 5), and my stances.

He was amazing, and I strive to be just like he was, no matter what it takes.

I nocked myself out of my trance when I realized that Neji hadn't said anything. I looked up from the rocks and saw him staring at me, almost like he was trying to read me.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you, Sakura-chan?" He asked me. I could see my pain reflected into his pearl orbs and knew I would not be making it out of this without talking about him.

I didn't trust myself to speak, so I nodded. I didn't even react when he called me 'Sakura-chan', he never calls me that; I should be freaking out, but I just sit there and not say anything.

"My father was used as a decoy for my uncle when people wanted compensation. I was very young when this happened, but it still hurt. I didn't find out to later that my dad didn't have to die, that they really wanted my uncle but my dad loved his brother so much, he refused to watch him die. I was very upset at my uncle, I still am really. I still feel the loss of him every day and it kills me, but as time has gone on I have accepted it. Nothing will bring my father back, but if there is even a chance that your brother is still alive, would it be so bad? Don't you want to see him again, talk to him, and hug him? I'd give anything to see my father again." Neji surprised me by telling me this. He rarely speaks so long and so personally, so I couldn't believe it.

It took me a few minutes, but I realized that the reason he told me that was so I could tell him about my brother. I could tell he was uncomfortable being so open with me, so I would have to compensate by telling him about my brother.

I took a breath and started telling the story of Mori Haruno the best way I could. "My brother was a special person, his name was Mori. His name means guard or keeper, and he was both of those things. He helped my parents out by watching me when they had to do some missions when I was young and he would help me train when I was around 4 or 5 years old. He kept me safe in the village we lived in before this and then when we were here he never let me out of his sight when he wasn't on a mission. He even kept tabs on me in the Academy; he said he didn't trust their security and that he wasn't going to take any chance of me being in danger. He was in ANBU by the time he was 12 and he stayed in ANBU for the remainder of his time. He had become a captain when he was 13, and he was well respected despite his age. Most of our teachers would go on missions with him to help him out or as back up, but my brother never messed up. Even if he did, he always recovered and fixed the situation before it could get worse. But everyone has a weakness, and his was us, his family. He was in ANBU with my parents, but he had a higher ranking position, so all of them knew what that entitled. He would risk anything to keep us all safe, even if it meant his life. A year after he had become a captain- being 14- they sent him, Kakashi-san, Guy-sensei, Asuma-sensei, and their backup to escort the Kazekage. An unexpected enemy showed up, his name being Orochimaru, and my brother engaged him head on alone. He told everyone else to get the Kazekage out of there and to make sure Orochimaru didn't have anyone to back him up. Being a captain, they listened to him, so half went with the Kazekage and the rest fanned out into the surrounding area to take down any other enemies." I paused, remembering what the mission reports had stated. "No one really knows what exactly transpired between the two. All of the reports say that when they went back to the clearing a while later to see if he needed back up there was nothing but what they assumed were ashes. They scanned the area for hours, searching for something to show that he was dead or that he was taken, but there was nothing. Not even a single kunai or shuriken lying in the dirt." I stopped, trying to control my breathing.

Whenever I would talk about my brother my chest would tighten and I would feel the urge to cry, but I have to suppress it to finish telling the story.

"When they reported back to the Hokage about the mission, they also had to tell them of their captains' death. I was 8 at the time, so when he called me into his office, alone at the time, he had pulled me out of the Academy. He told me to come around to the other side of his desk. Now, due to certain, circumstances, the Third has been like a grandfather to me, so when I came to the other side of his desk he took my hands and looked me in the eye. He then told me that my brother had died and that he was sorry for my loss. Knowing what it means to be a shinobi means we know about death and how we cannot escape it, but I was stunned. My big brother had died on a mission. Mori, the one who couldn't be bested, the one who would risk anything for his home and family, was gone. I broke down and when I finally got myself together, I went home, called Hinata, and we stayed at my house for a whole week. "

I stopped speaking, hoping he got my drift that I didn't want to talk about it anymore. I felt a hand on my cheek and looked up to find him looking into my eyes, and then he wiped my face. I was confused until I saw the tears glistening on his fingers. I was crying, and Neji did something I really didn't expect- he gathered me into his arms and hugged me close to his body, comforting me.

I tried to pull away, to tell him I didn't need to be comforted, but he just held me tighter and said, "Don't try to fight it. Loosing someone like that is hard, and the fact that you're crying about it tells me you haven't gotten over it, so take my comfort and relish in it damn it."

I didn't have the strength to correct him, so I just listened and buried myself into his chest, sobbing my heart out. I had my head right over his heart, and the beating of it started to calm me, and a little while later, my world turned black.

….

**Third POV**

After Sakura had fallen asleep, Neji put a jutsu on her to keep her that way so when he moved she would not awaken.

But, what is this? Neji was holding her one minute, and then he dropped her because he was knocked out. Orochimaru put the Hyuga down on the ground while he picked up his niece. He looked down at his young niece who had been misguided this whole time as to what really happened to her dear brother- his own nephew.

He would set things straight, but first she had to learn the truth as to what had happened to her brother. Nothing would be the same for Sakura once she knew the truth; it was only a matter of what she would do once she knows. But before he could leave he made a clone to take back the Hyuga boy without being seen so as not to set of any alarms.

Now, Orochimaru might have defected from Konoha a long time ago, but he would never harm it because of his family in the village. Not many knew of the relation between the Haruno's and him, and he planned to keep it that way for as long as need be. He missed his little cherry blossom through the years and would periodically checkup on her to make sure she was doing well.

Her parents knew that Orochimaru would come and visit, they also know what really happened to their son, but they thought it best for Sakura not to know until she was ready. They also knew that the mission they were on would be their last, as they would be murdered by a few of his underlings during it, but they accepted that. The only thing they didn't enjoy was leaving their only daughter alone and on her own for a while before Mori would come back into the picture.

But they had not expected Haku and Zabuza to be a part of her life again, so she wouldn't be alone.

Orochimaru had to snap out of it, he had to leave before someone caught him. He gripped Sakura tighter and started running towards the Sound village without so much as a glance backwards.


	10. Chapter 10

**God...This one is so short and I'm sorry. But I still don't own Naruto. Enjoy ~ And have a cookie for making it this far :) **

_**Inner **_

_Flashback _

**Chapter 10 **

**Sakura POV **

Darkness. The only thing I could see was darkness. I couldn't feel or hear anything, but I'm not sure if I should be scared or not. I was only Neji who knocked me out, so he probably just brought me back to the compound to sleep. I'll wake up in the morning and feel better than ever, and Neji and I will never speak of this again so as not to hurt each other's pride and start unwanted rumors. But it is nice blackmail. Ha, sucks to be Neji.

But hopefully I'll wake up feeling better. Going back to those memories...it hurt. It's like ripping oven an old wound and rubbing salt in it, but it felt nice to finally tell someone about those things. Hinata being my best friend knows this already but having another person know helps me in a sense- it's comforting.

Just like whatever I'm touching. Wait! I can feel things now! It feels like cloth...have we not made it back to the compound yet? That seems odd considering it feels like eternity since I was knocked unconscious. Maybe it had only been a few moments.

Whichever it is, I think I'll just sleep for now.

**A few hours later... **

**Third persons POV**

Orochimaru was carrying Sakura bridal style as he ran towards the Sound Village. He ran swiftly and quietly as he thought of ways to explain things in the lightest way so as not to surprise his niece too much.

Now, while many people think he is a cold hearted bastard, he always has and always will have a soft spot for his little niece. She was well known in his village ever since she was a child as the Princess of the Sound. Everyone loved how she was so happy and smiled at everyone and how happy she made Orochimaru. You didn't need to be a rocket scientist to notice how much he cared for her.

A great example is when she was only 3; she was running around the main part of the village. She was chasing a butterfly when she tripped and fell, scraping her knee. She started to cry and Orochimaru, in front of everyone, ran over to her, picked her up and held her as she cried, cooing her and getting her to calm down.

Then he asked if someone could bandage her knee and a nice vendor volunteered and disinfected it and bandaged it. And the whole time he was holding her hand and then he bought her a stick of dango to make her happy. And for the rest of the day he carries her on his shoulders, going around and greeting the vendors and villagers alike.

Basically, Orochimaru loves her and no one can deny that. She doesn't seem to know him, almost as though there is something blocking her memories. Had she remembered him, she wouldn't believe the crap everyone in the Leaf told her about her brothers "death".

But as he got closer and closer to his village, he knew his little blossom would not be so receptive at first. He would have to break the seal on her memories and she would hopefully see reason once that happened.

They reached the village in about 9 hours, not bad timing. He went through the village gates and everyone around looked to great him. They were surprised when they saw the pink haired princess was with him. They hadn't seen her since she was 4 years old so seeing her so big was a shock.

They knew it wasn't a per say happy visit judging by the look on Orochimarus face. It looked serious and no one would get in his way as he quickly made his way towards his office building.

He walked in and was greeted by his "loyal assistant" Kabuto. Orochimaru is not so naive as to believe that Kabuto is only loyal to himself. The only person Kabuto is loyal to besides himself was Sakura-sama. She can turn even the vilest person into a decent person because of her personality. She is just like her mother in that sense, at least when she was younger. Ever since her brother passed away she became more introverted, but since she was assigned to her team, she's been better.

Yes, Orochimaru keeps tabs on her; she is his only niece after all. No one fucks with Orochimarus family, no one.

He went down to his basement where all of his experimenting goes on. He lays her down on a bed cot as he looks over to his assistant and says, "We have to fix her. There's a ssseal on her sssomewhere and I plan to find it and break it. Letssss do thissss."

**...three days later…**

"Sssshe sssshould awake ssssoon, Kabuto," Orochimaru said, looking down at his niece. It had been a long day when he brought Sakura into the Sound. They had found the seal responsible for her memory loss, forced it open and had to sift through her memories to find just _wha_t had been blocked. Yet the seal itself had not gone away, meaning it was still blocking something but they couldn't find out what it was hiding.

I could see why they would do it, but why not just tell her that her uncle was a murderer? I mean, they couldn't expect her to not get curious as to who her uncle was that she couldn't remember, right? Sakura's smarter than that; she would get her memories back eventually. She had even started to take the barrier down unconsciously just thinking about it.

Kabuto fixed his glasses and frowned why saying, "Hopefully she will see reason, Orochimaru-sama. Sakura-sama is not known for being cool all the time."

Orochimaru scoffed and said, "If Tsunade taught her, then she definitely does not have a good temper. At least if she wants to hurt someone she won't hurt her own uncle, but she might go for you, Kabuto- I'd be careful."

Kabuto sweat dropped, knowing just how true that statement was, making Orochimaru laugh.

**Sakura's POV **

There was a strange feeling behind my eyes. It wasn't pain exactly, but it was uncomfortable. Was it my eyes? My head? My arms, legs? I haven't been able to feel anything ever since Neji knocked me out.

I think it is safe to say that it wasn't Neji who did it, I'm sure that I would've 'woken' up at this point. Meaning someone put me into a sleep for some odd - ouch!

I wanted to clench my head but I couldn't feel my arms so that was out of the question. There was an immense pain in my head like someone was poking my brain. Fragments of light kept flashing into my vision, like a picture trying to sharpen itself.

A guy. A really pale, tall guy with long black hair, and what looks like purple and black makeup all around his eyes that actually looked soft compared to his hard features. He was looking down at a young girl who was sitting on the ground crying.

The girl...the girl was me. He was cooing and picked me up as he walked up to a vendor and kindly asked if they would help me. They agreed and I watched as this man hold my hand as the nice vendor helped clean my knees. Once they were done the man who picked me up before picked the little me up again and thanked the vendor.

What the vendor said made my blood turn ice cold, "Of course, anything for Sakura-san, Orochimaru-sama."

The vision blurred and I was hit with many more memories, but the only thing I would get from any of them was Orochimaru and eventually I found proof that he is my uncle. My uncle!

The man who supposedly killed my brother. The mysterious man in my foggy memories of the ruler of the sound. The man who cared for me every summer until one day my parents sealed my memory of him. The man who everyone thinks is evil. This man...who is my family.

I was pushed out of my memory tornado and was finally able to feel my body again. I fluttered my eyes open and was met with the sight of the man from my memories, Orochimaru.

I wasn't sure what to do, but I knew that I should probably make some sort of sound before they think I'm a mute.

"...Uncle?" I asked.

"Ssssakura-chan." he whispered as he came closer. He hugged me to his chest while he said, "You're home now, and you'll get to see your brother very soon"


	11. Chapter 11

**Ahhhhh, Oro finally makes an appearance *evil laugh* just you wait. I still don't own Naru-chan. Enjoy ~ **

_**Inner **_

_Flashback_

**Chapter 11**

**Mori POV **

I can't believe he brought her here! Of all the fucking places he could have brought her, his base, really? What if she goes wandering and gets killed by one of his experiments? And now that she knows that he is our uncle, what will she do?

She is very much like our mother in the sense that she is stubborn and not easily swayed. What if she doesn't accept the truth? Goes back to the Leaf and never wants to see any of us again?

I don't think I could stomach that, not after not being able to hug her and teach her and love her like I used to. My sister means the world to me, but what if she doesn't me want to be part of her life again?

Goddamn that snake! Not letting me see her for two days, this is going to kill me! That means my questions won't be answered until then...sigh...

**Kabuto POV (one day has passed)**

Princess seems to be starting to really process everything she saw when we undid part of the memory seal. I mean, after Orochimaru-sama hugged her she tried to kill him a few times, but has since cooled down and started listening to what we were saying,

We also explained to her what had really happened with her brother and our plans, she seems skeptical, but you could see the underlying hurt in her eyes. She feels left out because she was the only one who didn't know that her brother was alive in her family.

The hard part came soon after that though, when we had to break the news that her parents had been killed. We told her that yesterday, and we still haven't found her since then, but she will come back. We told her that she would be reunited with her brother in two days; meaning today was the last day before they would meet.

I've been searching for her, running through the halls, checking rooms, stairs, but I've found nothing. I sighed as I opened the last door on the third floor; I just hope she doesn't do anything brash. Princess is the type to take it out on herself when things go wrong, and it would be a real pity if we found her dead somewhere (a/n I know that sounds like he doesn't care, but Kabuto is like a cousin to her, they used to hang out when she was a kid, so she's like family, but he doesn't know how to show emotion like that due to all the shit he does with Orochimaru and their experiments).

I just hope princess is okay.

** Sakura POV **

I was exhausted. I managed to find myself on the sixth floor, and I found a room that looked like it is being lived in, but at this point I don't care. The bed has a fuzzy brown blanket on it, and I walked over to it, wrapped myself in it, and fell onto the bed.

I was mentally and physically dead. After learning all these things about my family, my brother being alive, and my parents...how could they agree to that? How could they agree to be killed? They left me, and now they left Mori too! Why do these things keep happening?

I lost it after that and started sobbing. My parents were gone and I could never hug them, talk to them, train with them, and do ANYTHING with them again.

I kept sobbing as I thought about it, and. I knew it won't going to get better any time soon. I pulled the blanket closer to myself, and an odd thought occurred to me. This blanket...it smells familiar.

I've definitely smelt this before...I didn't have time to keep pondering it as I head the door to the room I was in open. I stopped my sobbing so as to not alert them that I was there; even if that was futile I still tried okay?

I didn't even hear them move, but suddenly I was swept up from the bed, and I braced myself for an attack. But it never came, I felt arms go around me and I felt tears on my shoulder as the person said, "Saki...your here."

I could feel my eyes widen and I felt a fresh wave of tears come to my eyes as I realized that it was my brother. Mori was standing here, holding me, crying, and I was standing there dumbstruck.

I snapped out of it and hugged him back fiercely. "Mori, y-your-re a-a-a-alive."

He laughed a bitter laugh and said, "Yeah, I guess I am sis."

I pulled away after that and hit him as hard as I could across the face. I shook my fist in his direction as he looked at me confused.

"You let me believe that you were dead. Mom and dad both kept it a secret. I went to your grave and the memorial stone as often as I could! I told you about everything that was going on, I was deluding myself into thinking that you were watching over me and listening to me! I started getting stronger to avenge you! And I find out the person who was responsible was our own uncle! And then they tell me that you are alive and well and working for them and training with them! Then they tell me that the parents are dead. Dead! My work has been a lie ever since you 'died'! Why can't people be truthful to me? Why does everyone one keep lying? The next thing they're going to tell me is that the Leaf also knows you're alive and that they were lying to me so as to go along with all of your plans! I can't deal with all of this alone..." my voice cracked when I said alone. I started to cry as I kept standing there, looking at my brother, feeling my heart breaking.

I fell to my knees and buried my head into my hands and started crying.

Ironic isn't it? I haven't cried all that often ever since Mori "died", and now I'm crying because my parents are dead and my brother is alive. So fucking ironic that Mori and death are the same reoccurring elements.

A small, half laugh grew from deep inside, and then it grew until it was a full blown evil laugh filled with bittersweet emotions. My hands fell away and I took out a kunai from my pouch.

"I wonder if I can still feel pain after all of this." I said to him. He looks so confused, and it made me laugh. "Let's find out!" I went to stab my leg with a kunai, but my wrist was caught just centimeters away from my thigh.

"STOP!" Mori was yelling at me. "Please Saki,I know it hurts, I know we shouldn't have lied to you, I know it was to protect you but it still hurts. You are my sister Saki. And when you feel pain I feel pain, and we are supposed to help each other through things like this. So please...let me help you, I'm begging you to let me help you."

I could hear his voice cracking as he said this. He was holding me tight, almost as though he was afraid of losing me.

**_He is afraid of losing you Saki. _**

_I-inner? _

**_You just went full psycho on him sweetie, he's not going to take that lightly. _**

_...Is this why I should of gone to Tsunade after I killed that man on the Wave mission?_

**_Yes. Your family has a knack for falling off the wagon when their emotions become heightened after they have killed someone. Is it strange? Of course. But there is something about you guys and how you lust for blood once you have spilled it. And that is why your Kekie Genkai will kick in once you truly lose yourself to the blood lust. _**

_What?! Loose myself to my blood lust? I would never- _

**_You are about to. You need to listen to your brother, calm down, trust him. You love your brother and you know it. You cannot be mad at him any longer. He is family and you need him and you know it. _**

_...thank you Saku. _

**_No problem, Saki-chan_**

I relaxed a little as I listened to inners words and found myself cradled in my brothers arms. I looked up at him then down at my hand, firmly grasping the kunai just short of embedding itself in my thigh.

I took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry." he looked down as though he was defeated. "I'm sorry for what I almost did. I just…I don't know how to take this all in, but I want you back in my life where you belong."

His eyes widened and he scooped me up into a big hug and swung me around. He set me down and then ruffled my hair while saying, "Good. I thought I lost you there for a second. Now let's go catch up while trying to find our uncle."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Yes, let's go find uncle."

**Third POV **

Catching up was not the only thing the Haruno siblings were doing. Sakura was trying to convince her brother to go back to Konoha with her and to have their uncle sign a treaty with the Leaf. He was iffy for they thought that he was dead and that Orochimaru was seen as a bastard there.

Sakura though, is a very good sweet talker and he agreed to help her try and win their uncle over. Orochimaru was in his office on the top floor, floor ten. He was waiting for his lovely niece and nephew to find him. He wasn't stupid; he had cameras everywhere in this building, so he knew where they were and what they were up to.

To say he was against it would be correct, but there was also the sliver of hope that he could become allies with his old village. He left the Leaf in order to get stronger and to have a safe place to do his experiments. He knows what he does is wrong, but he is trying to prove his own hypothesis, and you cannot formulate an answer without experimenting on those hypotheses.

In all honesty he is trying to heighten a person's natural senses when fighting so as to make them a better fighter. They would expand their chakra reserves as well, making them better ninjas. But all of his experiments thus far have not gone as planned. They have all mutated or have gotten out of control. He came close with one named Jugo. But the poor man has uncontrollable moments of rage and it can only be helped by an Uchiha or someone who can restrain him.

But he is hoping he can make it right. He had been training his nephew to be the perfect vessel. He believes that if he uses a Haruno, it should make the perfect shinobi. Now his nephew does not technically know what he is planning, but that shouldn't matter.

Orochimaru is there only living relative, so it should be fine, right? He only wants to take over his body and take over the ninja world, nothing too farfetched.

Orochimaru walked out of the control room. Sakura and Mori walked through the door as soon as he sat down in his chair behind his desk.

**Sakura POV **

Mori and I walked into what we finally found to be uncles office. He's sitting looking at a document, but as soon as he noticed us he put it down and greeted us.

"Mori, Sssakura, what a pleasant ssssurprissse to sssee you two together. Have you two gotten caught up?" he asked us.

I looked at my brother, then back at my uncle and said, "Yes, we've caught up."

We all fell into a silence and I glanced elbowed my brother in the ribs to give him a little push to talk to our uncle.

He sighed and said, "Uncle, may I speak with you, alone?"

Uncle nodded and I walked out of the room, masked my chakra signature, and waited outside the door to eavesdrop on their conversation.

I wanted to know what he was going to say so as to be prepared for my brothers answer when he would come and tell me the answer. But there was a slight problem with my plan, because I couldn't hear anything! My damn uncle must have put a sound barrier up!

I stomped away from the door and I swear I heard both of them chuckle as I kept walking away. I guess I'd have to wait until my brother comes to tell me his response.

...

Two hours later...

Are you kidding me?! Two hours, and I still don't have an answer! I mean, at least that means he didn't flat out say no, but still!

I'm so damn bored without either of them. I don't feel like trying to find Kabuto and I also don't wanna train, so I'm beyond bored. Ugh, hopefully this pays off or I'll have to kill them both.

I was in my brothers' room, laying on his bed and wrapped in the brown blanket he has in his room. I knew I had smelt that blanket before, it was our mothers. She used to wrap us in it as kids and then my brother used to hold me in it before he had 'died'.

I was just about to fall asleep when his door burst open and my brother came in with this weird look on his face. I sprung up out of his bed and waited for the news.

"Well." I said, getting impatient.

My brother dropped the weird look and smiled as he said, "He agreed to try and make an alliance with the Leaf."

I was so happy, nothing would have made this moment better! I would get to go back to the Leaf with my brother and my uncle! I would have to talk to Hokage-sama and possibly be trialed for staying with the enemy, but it would all be worth it if they would listen and agree to let them stay.

I jumped at him and hugged him and then I pulled away and asked, "When do we head out for the Leaf?"

He smiled again and said, "We leave first thing in the morning. The only one who isn't going is Kabuto."

I wasn't surprised at that, he was not only loyal to Orochimaru, and it would take an idiot not to realize that. But uncle knew that as well, so he was probably trying to make the best of his circumstances so as to have the Leaf grant his treaty.

"Be ready by 6, uncle wants to set out by 6:30 so as to get there by 5 at the latest. So go get some rest." my broker said to me, as he walked over to his bed and wrapped himself in its warmth.

"Okay! See you in the morning!" I ran out of his room, and ran down the corridor towards where they said my room would be. I found it because Kabuto, knowing I wouldn't know where it would be, but a big sign on it that said, "SAKURA, THIS IS YOUR ROOM- love Kabuto"

Sometimes I love that guy, he's like my cousin. He's a bit strange, but I do love him.

I ran inside and fell onto my bed and curled into a ball under the covers and passed out.

...tomorrow morning...

**Third POV **

Sakura and Mori were already at the meeting place by 6:10. They want to make sure to be early so if their uncle got there they would leave and get a head start if they could.

Sakura had all of her ninja gear attached to her because her uncle kind of stole her without any of her stuff. She was going to be the lightest of the group.

Her brother had a pack on his pack full of Scrolls with all of his weapons, poisons, clothing, the blanket, and extra things he had with him.

They were both ready to get back to their home village, and they were both pondering the probability of Orochimaru being accepted back to the village.

Mori figured that he himself has a better opportunity to be accepted back, but his uncle...he didn't have much faith for it.

Sakura on the other hand was coming up with ways to get the village to let him stay. She had a few good points in her argument, and she was hoping that her belief in him would not be wasted.

Speaking of their uncle, he came out with his pack that had whatever he would need. He looked reserved and solemn as he came closer to the siblings. He was thinking about what he would say to his former teacher. He knew that his chances were slim, but he was hoping that with the help of his family it would help them hear him out.

"Let'ssss head out." he said, taking the lead. Sakura fell behind him and Mori behind her. They were in a standard formation to watch one another's backs and started to embark on their journey.

11 hours later...

**Sakura POV **

It was around 5:20 when we were right outside of the range of the village gates. We could see them from here but uncle had us stop so we could all get our heads on straight.

"Ssssakura, you are going to act asss though you have taken usss into cussstody ssso you will not face repercussssionsss for being with the enemy. No butsss misssssy." he said to me. I was about to protest but I guess he was right. That would make it a little easier.

He pulled chakra reducing cuffs out of his bag and handed two pairs to me. I put them on uncle and then looked at Mori and put them on him.

"Ready?" I asked them, pulling on their restraints to show business. They nodded and I walked them towards the gates. I took two kunais out and put them to their necks to keep them walking forward.

We made it to the gate before someone stopped us. It was Izumo and Kotetsu who were guarding the gate. I came around my two 'hostages' and said, "I'm requesting a meeting with the Hokage. I have taken these two into custody upon my kidnapping. I have Orochimaru and Mori Haruno here for questioning and for a hearing with the Hokage himself."


	12. Chapter 12

**Mwahahahahahaha, I don't own Naruto. Enjoy ~ **

_**Inner **_

_Flashback _

CHAPTER 12

**Sakura's POV**

Not less than ten minutes and we were in the Hokage's office sitting in front of the Third and the Elders of Konoha. To say it was nerve racking was an understatement, I was terrified of the outcome of this meeting.

The Third was looking at me and then looking back at my two "prisoners" and I could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to figure out how I had captured these two very powerful shinobi. Even though I am Tsunade's apprentice that shouldn't mean I should be able to take down an S-class shinobi and bring someone back from the dead; it was impossible yet it was in front of him.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence the Third looks at me and says, "Would you like to start your story?"

I nod and begin my tale. I explained how I had been at the Hyuga compound and had been talking to who I perceived as Neji- which Orochimaru explained that I had been talking to Neji, but he knocked him out when he kidnapped me- and then how he knocked me out and took me to the sound. "When I had awoken I was on a table and unsure of my surroundings. Orochimaru then came in through the door and was spouting what I thought was nonsense at the time about my brother being alive and how if I cooperated with him I would get the see him. But I knew I had to play along because I was not certain if he had done anything to me while I was knocked out. A few days had passed by the time I woke up again and as he had promised I got to meet with my brother, now at first I was very skeptical and wasn't sure if he was real but certain things happened to prove to me that he was the real thing."

"What things?" one of the elders asked me, questioning my last statement.

""He brought up memories that had happened back when I was a child and when it was only the two of us." I lied smoothly. I don't know how people can trust me if I can lie so easily, but this is family, so that's probably why I could do it.

They all seemed to accept my answer so I continued on with my tale on how I captured these two criminals so easily.

"At one point Orochimaru left us alone and that is when I talked to my brother about leaving with me and coming back here. Seeing as he is tied up in front of you, you can infer that it did not end well. He told me that he would help me so we came up with a plan to put Orochimaru to sleep and then take him with us. I told him what herbs I needed to make the powder to knock him out and it was simple; make it, blow it in his face, and done, he's knocked out. Well my brother brought Orochimaru to me as planned and then he tried to use my concoction against me but I blew it back at him and got him point blank and I got Orochimaru a little bit so he was stunned. I took my chance; I jumped off the table and gathered chakra into my fingertips and knocked him out with a hit to the back of his neck. Then I woke my brother up and he apologized to me and agreed to come as my prisoner here, then we came here with Orochimaru and now we are here."

I kept my eyes straight and my hands behind my back so as to not look I had done something wrong.

I hoped they would take my story and that the boys would simply go along with it and not mess this up. If they mess up the story then we are all screwed and they will probably kill all three of us.

The three of them conversed for a few minutes before they turned to the three of us again. The Third looks at me over his folded hands on the table and says, "Thank you Sakura, you may leave now. If we need you again then we will send someone for you."

I bow deeply and then turn and walk right toward the door without another glance at my uncle or brother. Their fates were in their hands now and if they messed up, then I guess we were all dead anyway.

A single tear fell from my eye as I started running toward the only place that would make me feel better.

**Back in the room... **

The Third was staring at Orochimaru and Mori Haruno with a very calculating eye. Mori was definitely more nervous than Orochimaru, but Oro had been in much worse situations so he wasn't too worried about his physical appearance. Mori on the other hand was worried and stressing about what he would do if he couldn't stay here with his sister and take care of her.

Their parents had just died and he knew she wasn't taking it well even if she was calm and collected on the outside; she was falling apart on the inside. Hell, he wanted to break down but there was a reason that he was the oldest- he has to take care of Saki first but he can't do that if they don't accept him back.

Oro knew that he didn't have a great chance to be taken back, but he also didn't know what these people had up their sleeves.

The room was quiet for quite a few minutes before the Third cleared his throat and looked to his left and right and said something that neither man before them was expecting. "Elders, please leave the room. And if you could show Haruno, Mori to the front desk to have him reinstated as a Konoha shinobi and citizen that would be great. His status will be put at Genin and he will be enrolled into the upcoming Chunin exams with his sisters' team under Hatake, Kakashi. Now please leave and let me deal with Orochimaru."

No one moved, whether it was out of shock or defiance no one could tell, but the elders realized he was being serious and stood up and walked over to Mori. They took his bindings off and lead him out of the door and all that was left behind was an old student and teacher pairing.

The Third walked around the table he was at and leaned against the front of it with his arms crossed over his chest. He chuckled a little bit and says, "My my my, you must mean a great deal to little Sakura-chan if she is willing to lie so convincingly for you."

Orochimaru remained calm as he heard this. This conversation could either go really well or really wrong depending on how Orochimaru approached this and how the Third would take hearing some…touchy news.

The Third kept staring at his former student, knowing he was thinking of every way possible that this could go, and he would choose the path that benefited him the most. It would be a matter of how convincing he was if he was lying.

Orochimaru seems as though he will not answer, so The Third took the first step in this dangerous tango.

He was still looking at him, then he said, "As much as I love little Sakura, she can be subjected to questioning seeing as she lied to me and the elders. And you know what I mean about questioning, ANBU will see to figuring out exactly what she was lying about."

The reaction was almost instant as Orochimaru had his hands around the Thirds throat hissing, "If you hurt a single hair on my nieces head, you will suffer a terrible fate."

That was something the Third was ready to hear. He had been really good friends with the Haruno's ever since they had come to this village. He also knew things about Sakura's family that even her and her brother did not know yet, one of those things being that Orochimaru is their uncle.

Before her parents had gone on their last mission they had come to me to explain how it would be the last time they would be in his presence. To say he was shocked would be an understatement, but as he listened to their story he slowly began to understand their situation but that didn't mean he agreed with it. He tried to come up with alternate plans, tried to sway them into not going and figuring out a better fate then the one they were sworn to. But there's a reason Sakura and Mori are stubborn, they get it from their parents so of course they left in the end.

But their story included how they knew Mori was still alive and that he was safe with his and Sakura's uncle, Orochimaru. That threw him a curveball, and he wasn't really happy about it but if the Haruno's could trust their only son with him then he would believe them and give him the benefit of the doubt in this situation.

The Third simply smiled and said, "I was expecting something of that nature to come out of your mouth."

The snake's mouth twisted to one of confusion but realization dawned shortly after and he started to laugh, it was full of bitterness. He dropped the Hokage and went back over to sitting on his knees in front of the old desk.

"You knew that we were related coming into thissss sssssituation didn't you, Hiruzen?" Orochimaru asked, quieting his laugh.

The Third nodded, not offering anything else because he was afraid that if he told him about their parents telling him he would turn his wrath on the kids.

Orochimaru sighed and hung his head. This confused Hiruzen because in all the time he had known his old student, he had never bowed his head in that way, in a form of defeat.

They stayed silent for a few more minutes until Oro broke the silence saying, "I know I'm the lasssst persssson you want to hear thissss from but, Ssssssakura is the only reassson im here. Her brother hasss been my underling for a few yearssss at thissss point and I do love the boy. They are my only real family Hiruzen, they make me happy, and they make me want to be a better persssson. I know it issss nearly imposssssibble but I am sssstill going to assssk you. Can you pardon me and let me sssstay assss their legal guardian?"

**Sakura's POV **

I couldn't go home; there are too many memories there for me to take right now. So I went to the next best place I could think of- the memorial stone. I got there and sat in front of it, staring at the names like I have done a thousand times.

I saw that they had covered my brothers' name and had added two names to the bottom of the ongoing list. It was my parents' names, freshly engraved, and I ran my fingers over their names in complete shock.

I know they're gone, but seeing them in this stone is the worst thing. This is my favorite place to come and think and I used to talk to Mori here when I needed guidance but now it'll be my parents. They won't get to see me become a Chunin and beyond, they won't see me have my first boyfriend, they won't be there for me when I just need a mom hug or a dad's word of wisdom. They're just…gone.

I fell to my knees and started to cry. I couldn't think of anything that didn't lead me back to them or memories that we'll never relive as a whole family now that Mori is back. I thought things were going to get better, I thought that if Mori was alive then we could all be one big happy family again. I didn't want to lose two people…that isn't fair!

And that is when I finally broke down and I sobbed into my hands and couldn't stop. I don't know how much time had passed before I felt a hand on my head. I looked up and was looking into the lone eye of my master. Kakashi was looking down at me and he had a look of sympathy in his eye. I sniffled and said, "I know I shouldn't be crying."

He sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders and put my head on his shoulder.

I was surprised because he might be affectionate towards us but he isn't one to comfort a person like this. "Sensei, why are you-"

"I know the feeling and I know how close you were to your parents. It's okay to cry Sakura, it's okay to mourn their loss." He said this to me and a fresh wave of tears came flooding down my cheeks as I kept thinking about them.

He just held me as I cried, not asking questions, not saying anything- just being there for me.

**"Kill him…..blood…..spill his blood….." **a dark, sinister voice whispered. It sounded like an old man gargling razorblades.

What? Why would I hurt Kakashi? That doesn't make a lick of sense.

**"You know you want to see him pleading, begging for his life. Spill his blood….make it rain crimson….DO IT!" **

No! I can't do that to him, he's like a father to me. I could never-

**"Remember when you killed that man on the way to Wave country? Of course you do, you dream of it every night. You see his blood; you can ****_feel _****the bloodlust leaking from deep within you. Just give in to it…."**

How had this voice known of her dreams? But they were wrong, it wasn't a dream- it was a nightmare. I didn't mean to kill him, it just happened. I can't let myself listen to you say this shit to me.

It must have worked because the voice went away and it was just the two of us again. I leaned away from him and scrubbed my eyes to rid them of the moisture that had been present just a few moments before. I looked up at Kakashi and said, "Thank you, sempai."

I stood up and Kakashi had to help my stand because I started to tilt. I grabbed my head trying to make the pain go away, even just a little bit. What the fuck is happening to me? "Take me…to Tsunade-sama!" I told him.

I closed my eyes and suddenly I was weightless. It was the same feeling for a few minutes until he must have stopped and put me down on what felt like a medical table. Of course, that smell, we were in the hospital. Where else would she be in the middle of the day?

My head was still pounding, but Tsunade lifted my head with ease and was trying to soothe my head with her medical chakra. I could always tell when it was Tsunade-sama healing me, her chakra has a homie, honey feel to it. I started to calm down as she kept her hands on my temple for a few minutes, making sure I was okay before she finally stepped away from me.

She looked from Kakashi to me and said, "What the hell happened?"

Kakashi started to explain then he looked at me when he got as far as he could before he too was in the dark as to what had happened.

"There was a voice, Tsunade-sama." I said to her.

"A voice? What kind of voice?" She asked.

I didn't want to say anything, but I knew it would only hurt me in the end to say nothing. "It's almost like an older male with a raspy voice. He was…he was telling me to do things. I managed to stamp it out but as soon as I stood up I got a really bad headache and asked sensei to take me to you. I thought you might know what was wrong."

Tsunade looked to Kakashi and they shared a look. I don't know what type of look, but I didn't like it.

"We have to go see the Hokage Sakura." Kakashi said, looking away from me. "He knows more than Tsunade and I, and I think you should hear it from him."

I nodded and got off the bed. I was still a little wobbly but I don't need to be carried into grandpa's office. We walked out of the hospital after Tsunade told them she was leaving for a little while and to not mess anything up or there would be consequences.

We took to the rooftops to make it there quicker, but it still felt as though we were running through molasses. There was a tense silence around our group as we came upon the hokage tower.

Not going to lie, I've always wanted to come through the window but right now, it wasn't as cool because of this atmosphere. The Third looked at all of us and had his assistant in the room leave and close the door. He stayed sitting and crossed his hands in front of his face on his desk.

He didn't look at the two adults in the room though, he was staring at me. I didn't know what he wanted me to do so I didn't say anything, waiting for him to say something.

"What did they bring you here for, little one?" He asked me, giving me a look that told me he knew why I was here but he didn't know if she knew.

"I don't have a clue as to why simply because this all started with a headache." I was honest. I really have no clue why I am here; I just know that it has to be something important.

He unclasped his hands and got up from his chair. He came over to me and had me sit down in one of the chairs that were in front of his desk. He sat in the other one and motioned for the two other ones to use his desk.

He grabbed my hand and asked, "Do you know where your brother is?"

I shook my head no and he looked over to Kakashi but he was already gone. He chuckled at that and then turned back to me. "Did you find out the verdict of your uncle?"

I wasn't expecting him to say that so my face turned white and I felt like I was going to throw up. I was generally afraid to make eye contact with him and I said, "How did you find out?"

"I know when you lie little one, and he was pretty sore on the subject of you when I threatened to tell the elders you were lying to us." He simply said.

Fear raced through my veins, I had to defend myself somehow, "But I was-"

"Don't worry about it- I would never sell you out for that. You were protecting family, and that's how your family raised you. I'm proud of you Saku-chan." He gave me a hug then pulled back to look at the quizzical Tsunade. She wouldn't pry, but this is her grandfather so she is going to say something when it concerns her student.

"Now Tsunade," He started, giving her hard eyes, "you must know that even your apprentice didn't know about this until she went missing. You mustn't do anything rash and you mustn't take it out on her, do you understand me?" He was being dead serious.

Tsunade stood a little straighter and said, "Hai, grandfather."

He took a deep breath and said, "Her uncle is someone you know well and do not have a great past with, but he is still her family regardless of how many terrible things he has done." She nodded, waiting for him to go on. "Her uncle is Orochimaru."

Silence. I looked over at my teacher and I saw the shock on her face; she was not expecting that in the slightest. She didn't seem angry though which was a good thing. She seemed to snap out of her shock and looked up at me. I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of her reaction to something like this. She walked over to me and crouched to my level. I looked down; I didn't want to meet her eyes afraid of what I would see.

She tilted my head back and smiled at me saying, "Sakura, this doesn't change anything. You are still my student and I am your teacher. I've watched you grow up until now and this will not alter our future together. I love you like you're one of my own, that won't change- ever."

I was relieved to hear her say that, and then I looked over to the door as it opened with my brother and Kakashi coming inside. Mori came over to me and sat right by my feet as we both looked at the Third and waited for him to tell us our uncle's verdict. I didn't have a doubt that he wasn't going to be allowed back simply because he defected and turned his back on everyone.

"As you both know, he isn't favorably looked upon so he and I have come to a compromise." He started to explain. We nodded, waiting for him to go on. "I cannot just accept him back into the village because of the transgressions that have occurred over the past few years. But I think that with time the elders will be willing to let him back into the village, so he is to stay outside of Konoha and protect it from outside forces for the next three years. If he goes against the village at any time during those three years, even if he so much as talks badly about the leaf, he will never have a chance. He has to use his powers for good and he needs to show the people of this village that he will put his life on the line for them just as he promised when he left the academy. Many people speak ill of your uncle Sakura, and many people will not like this new arrangement, but I have don't this for two reasons and two reasons alone. One, he used to be my student and I would like to think that the old him is still in there somewhere, I can already tell you have affected him because of his recent actions, but they are for the better. The second is because he is your only other living relative besides your brother. He cares about you a lot, you and your brother, and I do not wish to separate your family. So hopefully you and your brother can keep him in check for the next three years and then he may be welcomed back to the village. I wish you luck on this quest, Saku-chan, Mori-san."

That was….definitely not what I was expecting. Neither was my brother judging by the expression on his face. But it is still good news considering I had thought if he wasn't allowed to stay they would kill him or just kick him out, so this is much better. I might have just gotten my memories back with him apart of my life, but I still love him. He is family and family comes before everything- forever and always. I looked up at my grandfather figure and I stood, grabbing my brother's hand forcing him to stand too. We and bowed saying thank you.

We went to leave but the Third said, "That isn't the only reason you had to come here Sakura. You came here because of your headache that put you in the hospital. Now the reason behind that-"

He was cut off by my brother saying, "You were in the hospital?" He looked at me and started to make sure I was okay while saying, "Why wasn't I informed? Are you okay? If you were in the hospital then why are you here?"

I sighed and said, "Yes I was in the hospital, I'm fine now but grandpa was about to explain why it happened WHEN YOU RUDELY INTERUPTED! NOW HUSH!"

That got him to shut up and turn to the Hokage with a deep blush on his face as he apologized.

The Third chuckled and said, "It's okay, it's nice to know that you care." He sobered after that though and started talking again. He sighed then started, "So in your family, there is this special ability. A type of Kekie Genkai if you will."

I snorted, I couldn't help it. "I'm sorry," I said, "but us? Have a special ability? That seems highly unreasonable."

"That's where you're wrong little one," He said. "Your family is known for its chakra control and its healing ability, hence why you are good at what Tsunade is teaching you little one. But the thing that makes you special and dangerous is this Kekie Genkai. It starts to make itself known once you have taken a life for the first time. It unlocks a type of, how to say, inner of sorts. Except this inner is one that wants to shed blood. The way it works is that once you give in to the voice, once you start to go in for the kill, the spirit behind the person takes over your body until someone can coax you out of the trance or you kill everything close to you at that moment. The only catch is that you don't remember doing it, or, if you are one of the rare ones, you can't help but remember their faces. You relive the moment over and over in your dreams."

He looked at the two of us then he looked to me and said, "The headache was from suppressing the voice wasn't it?" I nodded.

I looked at my brother and he looked really pale, but there was a slight flush to show he was upset. He looked up at the Third and said, "Does Orochimaru know of this ability?"

"Yes, he is aware of it," He confirmed.

My brother seemed to be shaking as he seethed, "That bastard! He's been using me! He told me that I would be fine. I can't remember half the missions I have done that involve murder. He said it was because I couldn't stomach the fact that I had killed them. He told me everything would be-" I cut him off by touching his arm.

He instantly stopped and looked at me. "It's okay, Mori. Now we know about it, but we can't let it rule our lives okay?"

I can't be mad about it, it's in our family, and it's in our blood. That means my dad had to go through the same thing. Everyone in our family had to suffer through it, but I have a great idea. I am training to be a medical ninja, and if this is something in the mind can't we try and fix it? Make a medicine that keeps the voice in check so we don't fall prone to it? Only way to find out is if we test it.

I looked at my Shishou and asked, "I have an idea on how to manage this power, but I need help. Do you think you could help me?"

"Hai," She said instantly, knowing I wouldn't just say something like that. She trusts me and that makes me so happy to have her as one of my teachers.

"Thank you for the information, grandpa." I bowed and my brother did the same, calmer than before.

I looked over to my other sensei and said, "Now that you also know about it, do not say anything to Naruto and Sasuke. I will tell them when I see fit for them to be informed unless Hokage-sama thinks differently?"

I looked to him and he shook his head saying, "This is something that your brother and you have to decide to tell people. It runs in your family making it your secret to tell or keep as you choose. But I do have a warning for the both of you."

We both nodded.

"The longer you suppress the voice or the longer you go without keeping yourself in check you risk losing yourself a little more each time. Every time you go into that state you lose a little more of yourself, so be smart. Watch each other and be careful, we wouldn't want to lose two great shinobi to something like insanity."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SAKURA-CHAN WILL GO INSANE?" And it was in that moment Naruto and Sasuke came crashing through the ceiling.


	13. Chapter 13

**Finally updated again loves, enjoy ~ ...sill don't own Naruto tho **

_**Inner **_

_Flashback _

CHAPTER 13

Sasuke POV

The fucking dope had to go and show them we were there. Why did I let him come with me? Oh yeah, I didn't. He just followed me.

Well guess we better just admit we were spying, not like we would be doing anything else in the air ducts. I looked at the Hokage to see an amused look on his face while Kakashi and Tsunade looked positively pissed off at our grand entrance.

As much as I wanted to be mad that he had done it, I was also grateful. Sakura was talking about not telling us of the danger her and her brother were in and it made me want to pull my hair out. Not that I would actually do that, I am an Uchiha after all. But she knows we all care about her, doesn't she?

What would we do if we hadn't overheard and known about this? What would happen if she lost it on a mission and we had no idea what was going on? Would she have even told us when _that_ happened?

I looked up at my teammate and friend with absolute anger radiating off of me. I lunged at her, effectively pinning her to the ground and holding her hands above her head. She seemed shocked, and I used this to my advantage as yelled at her. "Why wouldn't you tell us something like this, Sakura? Do you think we like being kept in the dark? You're our teammate dammit! We deserve to know these things when it could hinder a mission and end with you hurt!"

"It wouldn't affect me," she hissed back at me, "I won't succumb to the voice."

I scoffed and hissed right back, "How can you be so sure about that, huh?"

I wanted her to fight me back and tell me she knew because it had been done. I wanted her to say that she had a way of fixing this situation.

She looked away from me and whispered something. I shook her and said, "How, Sakura?"

"I don't know!" She yelled at me, bucking against me because I was still holding her down. "I want to know that it won't mess with me. I want to say that I won't fall to the voice, but I almost did not even an hour ago!"

I looked at her with confusion on my face. Where had she been an hour ago that she would…? She stared me dead in the eye as she said, "Kakashi-sensei. He was comforting me and the voice made its first appearance. I didn't even know what it was, but I didn't want to listen. It kept telling me to kill him, to spill his blood! I ALMOST KILLED HIM! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO TO MAKE IT GO AWAY!" Sakura started to cry as she said this. That wasn't good; she doesn't like crying in front of people.

But there she was, crying in front of most of the people she looked up to. I instantly let go of her wrists and scooped her up into my arms. She was lying in my lap, crying into my shirt as she continued to sob and mumble incoherent things. I rocked her gently, telling her it would be alright. She needed someone right now, and I guess it would be me. She means a lot to me- I can't just sit here and watch her cry.

I had forgotten we weren't alone and I looked up at the other people in the room and a small blush made its way onto my face. I was very embarrassed to be seen the way I had just been acting by my teacher, rival, and the fucking Hokage.

They all looked shocked, especially the dope. He was staring at me like I ate the last ramen in the world. I felt Sakura finally pass out from exhaustion and that's when I finally decided to speak to him.

"Naruto, don't you dare go saying that I was out of line." I warned him lowering my voice quite a bit so as not to disturb the sleeping pinkette in my arms. "She needed to get that shit out of her system. She knows we know and she knows that we won't let her go through all of this alone, and she knew damn well that I was going to yell at her -she deserved it- so don't get soft just because she's our teammate."

He paused in his retort then said, "I don't ever want to see her cry again because of this." He looked down at his clenched fist then continued, "Sakura-chan is our teammate and our friend- we won't lose her to this."

I nodded, then looked to the only person I didn't know in the room. He was giving me a weird look, has been since the moment I tackled Sakura. Speaking of which…they look similar. But I thought her brother was dead? This couldn't be him could it?

"Sasuke," It was the Hokage speaking, so I nodded, "I see you have noticed Mori-san. Mori-san is Sakura's older brother."

My eyes widened in shock simply because it was not every day someone dead shows up alive and in their village. I had about a thousand questions, but I also knew that it wasn't the time or place for it so I swallowed my tongue and looked him the eye.

I guess there could be worse ways to meet her brother, but this is kind of an awkward situation.

He was staring me down, and I went to say something but he stopped me putting a hand up to silence me and instead he said, "I would be ripping your throat out at the moment, but you're her teammate. Plus, she doesn't normally let someone push her around like that and hold her, so you must be special to her. But be warned," he stepped a little closer to me, "I will not hesitate to kill you if you hurt my sister. She means the world to me, and even if she begged for your sorry life, I'll still end you. We clear?"

I nodded, knowing he was serious. I could just hear it in his voice, his unwavering certainty. He probably didn't even realize that I would kill myself first if I was the reason she was hurt. What can I say? She's a good friend of mine; I don't want to hurt her intentionally.

Tsunade cleared her throat and said, "We should take her to the hospital so we can start doing tests. You should come too Mori, maybe we can help you too." She turned and started to leave but my heart was in my throat as I spoke up and said, "I thought you couldn't do anything for them?"

She didn't even turn around as she said, "Sakura has an idea I'm willing to try to see if it'll make a difference. So let's get going now."

**Sakura POV **

Darkness. Again. Why the hell do I keep ending up knocked out? One day I'm not going to end up waking up and then I'll be dealing with things I don't want to, like a scolding from my parents for dying at such a young age.

**_And you'd still have to deal with me, outer-chan. _**

_Inner! Can you catch me up with what's going on outside? _

You see, besides her being a voice on the inside, when I am knocked out or sleeping she can take over my senses and tell me what is going on. It's like she takes over my body for a little while to assess the situation I am present for, but not truly present.

**_Tsunade-sama brought you to the hospital to wait for you to wake up to try your idea of the experiments. But you have them worried Saki, you've been acting weird for a while, even before you were kidnapped. _**

_What do you mean? I've been the exact same. _

**_No you haven't dear. You started to change once you stopped talking to Hinata about your problems and thoughts. You started to close yourself off again, but she didn't want to pry you open afraid you would run away. _**

_No, that can't be right. I haven't kept anything from her! _

**_Oh really? Then explain why she's sitting in your hospital room, holding your hand asking what's wrong? How does she not know about any of this stuff? About Itachi? About your brother? _**

_I didn't even know half of those until right before we got back!_

**_That's never stopped you before. You used to send her messages, even if you were in the village, about things you had learned. The last time you did that was when you found out your parents were ANBU. She doesn't even know of Zabuza and Haku-nii yet. How are you just going to keep her in the dark? You know she isn't a porcelain doll, she can take it, and she'll help you. _**

I couldn't even say anything to that simply because she was right. I have to tell Hinata everything that I haven't and I need her to help me. Even if my brother is here now, he still missed four years of my life and those four years Hinata was here for me. She deserves the truth.

I had to wake up first though so I could talk with her. I started to swim to the surface of my unconsciousness and I finally pried my eyes open but shut them immediately against the bright lights of the hospital. I blinked a few times, getting used to the brightness and felt the pressure on my right hand. I looked at it and was met with Hinata's lavender orbs staring at me with tears in her eyes. I cracked a smile at her and squeezed her hand. I started to speak, but it was very cracked and dry, "Hinata, I need to tell you some things. Come here."

I moved over on the bed and patted the spot next to me. She complied after a few minutes and then she put her arms around me. She was firing question after question but I silenced her with a hand on her arm.

"I have a lot to tell you, so get comfortable, Hina-chan." I kept my hand on her arm as I started to tell her everything that has happened in the past two weeks.

…

A few hours later…

I felt much better lying in Hinata-chans arms after we cleared everything up. I don't like keeping things from her, and I felt bad for not even realizing I was neglecting our friendship, but now it's all okay. We were sitting in compatible silence, just the two of us like old times.

"Sakura." The silence was shattered by a voice that I recognized immediately, and I was staring at a shocked Tsunade. My mouth went dry as I noticed Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, Mori and grandpa. They all had identical looks on their faces of bewilderment and shock. Shit, that means they probably were here the whole damn time.

I looked up at Hinata but she wouldn't look me in the eye. My jaw hung open as I said, "You knew they were there."

It wasn't a question, I could see by the look on her face that she was guilty, but I couldn't be mad at her. I wanted to be but I can't change the past so I took a deep breath and faced the rest of the people in the room.

"I'm sorry," I started, "I understand that a lot of what you guys just heard is new to all of you. I understand if you're angry at me, but you need to hear me out." No one seemed to want to interrupt me so I continued. "With Zabuza and Haku, I honestly had no idea how to approach that with any of you besides grandpa. And, I was scared during the whole Itachi thing that if I had told anyone he would hurt someone. I didn't want to risk putting anyone else in dangers path simply because I couldn't keep my mouth shut."

They couldn't fault me on that logic, but even so I could see the faint hurt in Tsunade and Kakashi's eye that I hadn't said anything to them regardless of the consequences. The Third started to chuckle and said, "You think I'm afraid of Itachi Uchiha? My dear, do you have so little faith that we could protect ourselves?"

What? He of all people should know that I admire all of their skill and ability, so I defensively said, "I know that all of you can take care of yourselves but this was Itachi Uchiha we're talking about, and he can do anything he wants. Even if he didn't kill you he could have hurt you or taken you or any number of things! I can't lose any more people- I refuse to."

The hurt was evident in my voice and I hated it. I don't want to seem weak in front of my friends and family, I don't want to be a burden.

I felt Hinata's arms tighten around me as if she were reading my mind. I looked up at her and she said, "You don't have to be afraid, Saki. All of us here," she gestured around the room, "all of us care about you. We would all put our lives on the line for you, regardless of the enemy and the odds."

I wanted to say something but this time Naruto interrupted me. "Sakura-chan," he was using his serious tone with me, "you are so stupid!"

I gaped at him along with the rest of the room because that is not what I was expecting to come out of his mouth.

"You can't keep things like this to yourself anymore! There is so much we didn't know until right now. You know most of us like the back of your hand, you've found out things about Sasuke and Hinata and so many more that almost no one knows! You help people, you let people lean on you, and you want nothing in return! When you need someone you don't even like to reach out to your best friends when you need us the most! How can you sit there and expect us to do these things when you won't do them back with us? You're being a hypocrite!"

Naruto was pissed, I could see it in his eyes, the look of anger, betrayal, and hurt. I looked into those eyes and said, "I know Naruto, but I can't help that I'm stubborn."

Some of the anger left his eyes as he continued to look at me, but I knew he wouldn't forget this easily.

The room's atmosphere seemed to lighten slightly after that confrontation was out of the way, but it was nowhere near comfortable. Everyone seemed deep in thought after hearing all that I had said to Hina-chan, especially my brother.

But it was at this time that Tsunade-sama came over to me and started to ask me what I had in mind for a possible cure.

"I was thinking that because this, this power resides in our brains, why don't we pin point just what parts it affects? That way we can find out what we can do to block those signals from being received in extreme circumstances." I had been thinking of this for a while now. I don't like the fact that this could end up hurting my brother or I severely in the long run. I need to figure out how to cure this and I need to figure out soon.

I saw the contemplative look on her face she thought of my idea. She was in deep thought for a few minutes before she looked down at me and nodded her head.

I looked over to Mori and said, "You are going to go first for this. You have to have been exposed longer."

Mori looked reluctant to agree with me, but he also knew I wouldn't let up until he agreed. I'd even go as far as strapping him to a spare bed to make sure he couldn't leave, and he knew that.

Tsunade pursed her lips and said, "The tests we have to run are not going to be easy, Mori-san, but I assure you I will make sure you are safe the entire time."

"Me two," I said, going to get out of the bed. Hinata got off the bed and stretched while I went to stand.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sasuke had walked over to me and put a handout to stop me.

Annoyed, I went to get up again saying, "I am fine for now, I should be able to help test my brother and come up with an antidote."

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort but Tsunade beat him to it saying, "No Sakura, you are to stay here for the night then you are going to be under the care of Kakashi seeing as he is your legal guardian as of today, along with Mori-san."

I turned my attention to Kakashi; open mouthed staring at him as he rubbed the back of his neck saying, "I was going to inform you of that once you were out of the hospital…"

Of all the people who would adopt me, I'm honestly surprised it was Kakashi. I thought for sure that Tsunade would jump at the chance if she ever got it, I wonder what made her not go for it?

Well, no time for that for now. I might as well relish in the fact that I am now the adopted daughter of the famous Copycat ninja. But him, taking care of me? I see a lot of trial and error in the future. I started to laugh and I saw most of the occupants in the room staring at me as though I had lost my mind.

I calmed down enough to explain that I thought it was funny that Kakashi had decided to take me in seeing as he has no experience with anything living under his care all day every day. I could see the blush on his face as he laughed too and said, "Well I am a shinobi, so learning new things is easy. Plus, with you as my new daughter that means I get a say in your personal life."

I saw an evil glint in his eye as he said that and I shivered at the implication of him now having the power to tell me what I can and can't do.

"So as your legal guardian, I am telling everyone they need to leave this room and not bother my daughter, except Sasuke." He smiled and then let off a threatening aroura to imply that he was serious. Everyone left, including the Hokage to my disbelief, and then it was just Sasuke and I staring at one another.

He was still standing across the room, staring at me with a blank face. I was afraid he was going to yell at me, tell me he hated me, or respond harshly to what he just heard.

He walked over to me and then looked at me like he wanted to say something. He surprised me though because he got into the bed with me, much like he had the last time I was in the hospital, and he hugged me to his chest. I could hear his erratic heartbeat as he whispered, "As much as I want to yell at you again and tell you how much I want to beat the crap out of you..." he trailed off, making me tense in his arms. He took a deep breath and continued, "I won't do any of that. I'm just going to be a good teammate and friend and let you feel safe for a while."

Okay, who the fuck did Sasuke turn into? I know I helped him become better in tune with his emotions and how to show them, but this? This is just weird.

But I also kind of liked it. I did actually feel better being enveloped in his warmth, so I snuggled a little closer and said, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

He laughed, sending vibrations through both us of before he said, "Let's just say your new dad gave me some advice on how to deal with you."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 

**Kakashi POV **

To say I was surprised when Tsunade informed Sakura that I was her new care-giver would be an understatement. I hadn't even signed the papers at that point, but now I didn't have a choice. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't want her as my adopted daughter- I had wanted to speak with her first about the possibility before I thrust myself upon her. I also have no real experience with taking care of a child, but thankfully she is already twelve so it isn't like I have to take care of a baby.

I like her, she's a hard worker and everyone knows she is independent- sometimes too independent. She has been through a lot though between thinking her brother was dead for four years being killed by their uncle and then finding out he was actually alive with their uncle and then to find out her parents knew about most of that and kept her in the dark and now their dead. Yeah, that's a lot to go through, even for a shinobi at her age.

But I am her team leader and I will step up as I am needed, and right now she needs a family to take care of her. Even if we aren't her blood, now she has her brother and her surrogate brother's by her side along with the boys and me.

I was surprised Tsunade had let me take her though; I thought for sure she was going to fight me tooth and nail for her apprentice.

_The Hokage had sent a messenger for me to go to his office immediately so I made haste, not wanting to be late to see Lord Third. I came in through the window as per usual and saw that Tsunade was also in the room, standing in front of the Third. _

_She was down in the standard position ANBU use before they are given a mission so I did the same, waiting for him to explain why he had sent for me. The messenger would of told me if it were a mission, and he had said nothing of the sort so I didn't know what it could mean. _

_We didn't have to wait long as he motioned us to stand up from behind his desk and we did as we were told. He looked into our eyes respectfully before he started to puff his pipe on his desk. _

_"This concerns one of our young genins that both of you have a connection with," he started, "and it is a rather touchy subject that she is not aware of yet."_

_ The silence that followed was tense with a mix of anticipation, we needed to know who he was talking about, and I had a feeling I knew who it was. _

_He sighed and said, "This is a meeting to figure out which of you two will become Sakura and Mori Haruno's legal guardians. Before you ask about Mori- yes, he is alive and well and my guess is we'll get the whole story once he is here. But their parents are now out of commission and it is a time to mourn for our fellow shinobi and their family members. But we cannot leave Sakura without a guardian because she is a minor and even though we can let Mori let back in as a citizen and shinobi, we cannot leave him unguarded, so he is a package deal with his sister." _

_Shocked was an understatement for the feeling going through me, not that Tsunade was fairing any better than I am._

_I straightened my posture and said, "I would like to take custody of the two of them once they arrive sir." _

_He seemed surprised, but he hid it well. Tsunade on the other hand openly gaped at me, like a fish out of water. I returned her look with a closed eye smile and said, "I knew he parents from ANBU. They were nice people and they loved their children so much. Seeing as one of them is my student, and the other I worked with on quite a few occasions, I think I fit the model for their new caregiver." _

_She closed her mouth, opened it again and closed it. The Third looked between us and seemed just as stunned as Tsunade. _

_"Okay, we will tell her of this at a later time, and once she knows you'll sign the papers. Good day you two," he dismissed us. _

At the time I was surprised that she would trust me with her apprentice, I could see the love in her eyes even though she hadn't been training her for that long. (A/N Ah, how much he doesn't know)

I had yet to confront her about it, but maybe she would talk to me about it on a later date.

Sakura had seemed to take it well though, but I could feel the horror oozing out of her once I said I had control over personal affairs.

Ooooooh, she was going to be in for a real treat between Mori and myself. Any guy that tries to get close to her is going to be castrated, or killed. Depending on my mood I suppose.

Depends on what I could still do once Sakura was done punishing me for handing her over to Tsunade for testing. Oh boy.

**Sakura POV **

I'm going to kill that man, leaving me in Tsunade's care to let them perform tests on me to figure out what to do about our bloodline and its side effects. Tsunade has been pricking me with needles, taking blood samples and she said she has an idea of something but that was hours ago.

I sighed to myself, looking out the window in my room. It was a nice day out, the sun was shining and it was warm out, but there were clouds looming over the horizon and they looked pretty angry. A gust of wind drifted into the open window and I smiled at the smells that came with it. The smell of rain always made me happy, even if I am afraid of thunder; rain is so pretty to look at. The rain always fell in sheets here as opposed to when I was in the mist and it was either misting or drizzling. For some reason it never really stormed there except maybe once or twice during the year.

I got up and went to look out the window. I looked down at what I was wearing and while it wasn't ideal, it was better than a hospital gown. Tsunade had smuggled me a pair of kaki-cargo pants, fresh bindings, and a soft cream colored shot sleeved shirt. She also brought me a deep red long sleeve shirt in case I ever got cold and I had laughed when she said that. She had reminded me of a mom when she did that and I wanted to tell her that, but the wound was still fresh.

I would not cry about it anymore, I cannot sit here and not do anything about their death. I would get my revenge and I would make sure my uncle would help me with it no matter the cost. Family comes first, right?

I hopped up onto the window sill and propped my right leg up and stared out at the village. My room is on the fourth floor-the top floor- and I have a decent view of the village from here. It looks beautiful and I can't help but reflect on my time in the Mist. With my memories restored and random memories coming to the forefront of my mind, I could get a great picture of the village. It had been updated a little bit when we went for our mission.

The two villages are really different, between their respective locations, training regimen all the way down to the villagers. But I am pretty happy that I'm here now.

I wish my parents could see this though, they loved this village and everything it has it offer. I bowed my head as I thought of them. They were alive just a short while ago, and now they're just…gone. How could they have agreed to be killed by them? Why would they go down without a fight?

I was angry at them for leaving me, for lying to me about Mori, for everything they did to "protect" me. I deserved to know! I could have stopped them from going on that mission. I could have convinced them to stay here for me, for Mori, for the village they would leave behind. If only they would have stayed…Kami it isn't fair!

I looked out the window and thought about the possibility of dying from this height. It was six floors up, and if I just didn't react to the fall then depending on how I fell I could break my back. Or one of my legs, or an arm, or if I fall and break my neck then I wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore.

**_You know you can't do that Saki. _**

_Inner?_

**_What, did you think I left you? No way kid. _**

_Inner…what if jumping is better? That way they wouldn't have to worry about me losing my mind and killing everyone. _

**_What's gotten into you all of a sudden? You haven't been like this since you thought Mori was dead. Talk. _**

_I miss them. _

**_*sigh* I knew this would happen. _**

_What?_

**_Why didn't you talk to Sasuke about this sweetie? He would understand what you're feeling. _**

_I don't wanna talk about it Saku, I just want to cry. But if I cry I'm weak and I refuse to be weak in front of him. No one gets to see me cry, not even Mori, not anymore. Every tear I shed will be compensated with one lap around the village. _

**_That isn't healthy and you know it. I'll tell Tsunade about this and she'll get you evaluated to make sure you aren't doing exactly this. You need to open up to someone Saki, someone who can relate to your loss and that would leave you with two options- Neji and Sasuke. _**

_I don't want to talk to either of them. I'd rather jump out the window. _

**_No balls._**

_Bitch._

I was seriously contemplating it but my musing was stopped once my door opened and Neji stepped inside.

He had his normal brooding expression on his face, but he took one look at my face and walked over to me. I felt his arms scoop me up and he put my head on his chest and just held me there. I wanted to tell him that I didn't need it and demand that he let me go, but I knew better. I grabbed onto his shirt and buried my head in his chest with tears still streaming down my cheeks.

I let out my sobs and Neji held me close and rubbed my back.

"It's alright, Sakura-san, just let it out."

"This isn't fair," I sobbed to him. "I told myself I wouldn't cry anymore. I can't keep doing this. They're gone, they're dead, but that's what it means to be a shinobi. You're going to die, every single one of us is going to die at some point, and it will most likely be on missions just like theirs. How can I just keep doing -" he interrupted me by pulling back and slapping me.

My eyes widened in shock and I went to protest but he interrupted me _AGAIN_, "No," he sounded very firm, "you will continue to be a shinobi and you will keep taking missions. Giving up isn't what your parents would have wanted you to do and you know that. Your parents knew the risk of being a ninja and they still had two children and still kept taking missions. If your parents saw you like this they would be mad that you want to give up and simply be a civilian after all of your hard work. They wouldn't allow it and neither will I or your team. And now, you can fight for your parents because they can't fight for themselves any longer. It will only make you stronger if you let it."

Jesus, what did I do to him? Between him and Sasuke actually speaking more than one sentence at a time I don't know what the hell happened. From icy and cool to suddenly caring… weird.

But he wasn't wrong, I knew that if I tried to tell my team that I wanted to quit they would kill me first. And now with my brother back and having Zabuza and Haku here too...I shouldn't give up. It wouldn't be right.

I nodded my head and said, "You're right, Neji."

To say he was shocked would be a gross understatement. His mouth actually hung open a little bit, most likely because of my lack of protest and the fact that I hadn't pummeled him for slapping me. He'd get his for that later, but for now I'd let him relish the fact that he was right,

"But," I added sheepishly, "do you mind if I um..." I could feel my cheeks heating asking him but I had to, "can you...can you just hold me for a few minutes?"

Now he turned red and looked at a loss for words but then he sucked it up and said, "S-sure."

I hesitantly leaned back towards him and I felt his arms go back around me. This time we were sitting up and I had my head testing against his heart.

I buried my face into his chest and I continued to cry into him. After a few more moments he started to slowly rub my back and I started to feel a little bit better. I clenched onto his shirt and just relished in the warmth of his body. He put his chin on my head and said, "What the hell are we going to do with you?"

I snorted and said, "I don't know, maybe I'll just drive you all insane."

I felt him go ridged as I said that and he said, "Speaking of insanity, the reason I came in here was to tell you that we have a development with your brother. But Tsunade-sama wants to wait for after the Chunin exams to probe it further."

I furrowed my brows and said, "Why would she wait till after?"

Neji pulled back to look at me and said with a bit of a smile on his face, "All of our sensei put our names in to become chunin this year so we must partake in the exams."

I could feel my face break into a huge smile as I jumped out of his grasp and started rambling on and on about how I would become chunin. Neji seemed to chuckle at me and it stopped me because of his rich laughter, he looked at me conceded and I said, "You should lighten up Neji-san. Laugh like this with the people you consider friends, it's nice."

He looked a little embarrassed and then looked away from me saying I should go put on my clothes because I was being discharged today.

I sobered at that and went to grab my things to go change. Once that was done Neji was there to take me downstairs and brought me to the front desk to a waiting Kakashi and a down looking Mori. Once I saw them I ran over to them and gave them a big hug each. This seemed to perk my brother up a bit and just to make Kakashi feel a little better about himself I said, "Hey dad, you're enrolling us in the chunin exams this year? Do you really believe in us all so much?"

Whether it was the dad comment or the fact that I knew about it, he was surprised and sheepish because he was rubbing the back of his head.

"Hehe," he started, "your teammates were informed this morning and just so you are aware, Mori will be joining the team so he can prove he is of chunin level legally."

I beamed at that and gave my brother a big hug and said, "We'll be on a team together!"

He pulled back and ruffled my hair smiling saying, "Yes, yes we will Saku."

He was holding something back from me, I could feel it, but right now was not the time to grill him.

We all walked out of the hospital together and I stayed behind so I could talk to Neji some more, but he wasn't there. I looked around like an idiot then frowned when I didn't see him nearby either. I sighed and then continued to walk with Kakashi and Mori.

They were telling me that the exams start tomorrow at 1400 hours and that we had to register there. I was only half listening because the look on my brothers face was making me worry, he looked very uncomfortable and just not Mori-like. He wouldn't meet my eyes, so I did what any other sibling would do to get them to pay attention to you, I ran away.

I ran straight ahead and took to the rooftops and headed left -in the direction of the trees- and smiled when I felt Morison chakra following after me. Mori was right behind me and Kakashi seemed to be following, but at a safe distance.

He could probably feel the unease radiating from him and wanted to know what was wrong with his now adopted son. I made it to the forest and leaped into the trees. I knew where I would take him, because it is the one place we both have a reason to visit.

It took only a few minutes to reach that stone, and I can feel the stillness around it from here. I made it to the stone and searched for our parents' names and I ran my fingers over it and took a deep breath.

I turned to meet my brother, staring at me. I sat down where I was standing and leaned against the rock and just started at him for a few minutes, studying him.

He looks tired with bags under his eyes, he seems paler than normal, and if you look close enough he has marks from IV's pricking his arms in various places. Perks of being a medic is that you get to figure how to read people even when they don't want you to.

Patting the ground next to me and said, "I know there's something the matter and I want you to tell me. It isn't like you to seem so...tired."

I wasn't sure what word to use for it, but that seemed to cover it for now. He looked like he wanted to do anything but that, yet he still came over and sat next to me. He was silent for a few minutes until he rested his head against my shoulder and whispered, "I don't want to tell you, Sakura."

No, this can't be good; he never uses my full name. I can't jump to conclusions thought, because I don't even know what this is about yet. I had to will my heart to slow down so I wouldn't have a heart attack listening to him.

He took a deep breath and said, "I won't tell you till after the exams okay? For now, if you want to, you can do a scan of my body and you'll see that I'm okay."

I narrowed my eyes at him, wanting to know more but if he is going to let me scan him then he should be fine, right?

I sat him up and sent my green chakra into his body, searching for any signs of sickness or trauma. He seemed okay, but I treated his fatigue and the pin point holes on his arms and that seemed to make him more normal because he perked up noticeably after that.

He smiled at me and said, "I love you imoto, you know that right?"

I half smiled and punched his arm saying, "Of course you do, you don't have a choice."

That got a smile out of him, almost a real smile, and I stood up and offered him my hand. He took it and pulled himself up then met my eyes with a not so innocent look in his.

"Wanna go get some ramen? It's on me."

My eyes must have sparkled because he got scared and I said, "You're about to be broke, but hell yeah I do!"

He sweat dropped at that but I challenged him to a race and then we were off.

….

**Third POV **

Kakashi shook his head at his now adopted children. He knew what was wrong with his son and he wanted to know if Mori would tell her regardless of the Hokage and Tsunade's orders, but he didn't.

Mori really hadn't changed and Kakashi was happy about that, because he already knew Sakura would be a handful and her brother could actually subdue her. Hopefully he'll get her through the exams and then he can breathe.

Kakashi believes his students can actually become chunin, they're all somewhat advanced for their genin class and he wants to see Guys face when his younger genin are in the same exams as his older genin.

But he was also worried about his son, he wants to see him do well but if he loses control…let's just hope Tsunade-san is correct in her assumptions.

Right now though, Kakashi was counting his lucky stars that his daughter had seemed to forget that he subjected her to Tsunade's testing, so he wouldn't be nursing a sore head from her heavy ass punch. Someone her size should not pack such a huge punch.

AUTHORS NOTE LOVIES ~

haha, I know it had been a while and I'm really sorry about that. I started my senior year of high school at the beginning of the month and it has been really hectic because of homework and obligations. I'm working on the next chapter already and I'm praying to update in about a month at the latest, but it might be later because I'm terrible and have no time management.

But a quick thank you to anyone who reads this story still or if you've stumbled across it and like it. It means a lot to me to post this stuff, i should be posting another story shortly as well that I have been working on and will update it weekly hopefully.

Well, thank you loves, I hope you liked this and please hold out for me! I will eventually finish this story!

DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT PLEASE, EVEN JUST A WORD AND I WOULD BE SO THANKFULL 3


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